Teacher of the Year

When Susan Andrews learned that she had been nominated as the Teacher of the Year at East Forsyth Middle School (EFMS), she was humbled and inspired.
Andrews grew up in Kernersville and graduated from Glenn High School in 1987. After high school, she attended Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where she earned her second social studies certification for grades 6 – 12 in 1992.
Following earning her degree, Andrews found her first position teaching at Dobyns Bennett High School, where she worked for four to five years before moving back to NC with her husband, Philip, and two sons, Gavin and Gray.
Having taken time off to stay home with her children, Andrews later returned to teach in 2013 at EFMS, where she currently teaches Ancient World History to sixth graders.
Andrews explained that she chose to become a teacher because she enjoys history.
“I have always enjoyed school. I love history, and I love finding ways to make history fun and relevant to today,” she shared.
Andrews said she enjoys seeing what students want to learn about.
“I let students learn about something on their own first, and then we come together to discuss what they have learned and any questions they might have,” she explained.
Andrews said the lightbulb moments are among her favorite things about teaching.
“I enjoy seeing those lightbulb moments when they understand why we do things in a certain way because of history,” she said, as she explained that many of her students enjoy learning about the early Americas. “A lot of our Hispanic kids like learning about the Aztecs and Mayans because they have ancestors from (those cultures), and they start to understand the history and how it comes together.”
Andrews said one of the things she enjoys is doing meditation with the students as they get into learning about Buddhism.
One of the things that Andrews said she enjoys each year is having eighth graders who she had in sixth grade come back to talk to her and tell her how much they learned.
“These kids come to us with little to no social studies, and I want them to leave enjoying social studies and realizing how much they learned and to think of the conversations they can have because of all the things they have learned,” she shared.
Along with teaching students in the classroom, Andrews is also active with the school’s Running Club and has helped coach cross country.
Outside of teaching, she is an avid runner and enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and having dinner as a family. She noted that she usually does a marathon every other year.
When Andrews learned that she had been named Teacher of the Year at EFMS, she said she was humbled.
“I was very humbled that they would choose me,” she said. “I work with rock stars who inspire me to do more and to do better. This award inspires me to keep putting in the time, energy and effort to have those five good lessons a week.”