NAACP

Alamogordo Daily News
By Karl Anderson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 04/01/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

Holloman Middle School teacher Trude Trudell was presented the Otero County NAACP Teacher of the Year Award for 2008 at a banquet held at the Desert Sands Club at Holloman Air Force Base Saturday night.

The ceremony began with guest speaker Dr. Joyce Hill from New Mexico State University-Alamogordo, who spoke of her career as an educator and the value of teachers to society.

“My students would be shocked to know I am scared to death to talk,” she began. “They’d call me long-winded, though.”

Hill said when she began teaching, she thought she could save the world.

“Being a teacher is an honor and a serious responsibility,” she said. “Teachers are in charge of the most valuable resources we have the human mind and the spirit. It is our charge as teachers to build and inspire the minds of those who will carry us into the future.”

Hill said that any way you slice it, teaching is hard work.

“Educators, it seems, are always in the public eye,” she said. “Teachers don’t have the luxury of creating things behind closed blinds. The smallest mistake is noticeable.”

Hill said the country will need to hire 2 million teachers as the second decade of this century approaches.

She spoke of landmark laws that have made education

something both possible and tangible for all children.

“It began in 1954 with Brown v. The Board of Education which eliminated the exclusion of any child, regardless of race, from an education,” she said. “It struck down laws that discriminated against people because of their ethnicity.”

Another law Hill cited was the passing of Title 1 in 1965, which ensured that children who could not afford an education are entitled to have one.

“Many court cases followed those, and the further passage of laws to benefit all children when it comes to an education,” she said.

She then quoted former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, who declared education to be the most important function to society.

“In these days, it is doubtful that any child may expect to succeed in life if they are deprived of an education,” Warren said in 1954.

“Now in 2008, we are still a long way from achieving that,” Hill said. “We still have young adults who can neither envision nor afford a college education.”

By 2010, Hill said more than half the children in New Mexico will be minorities.

“Our world is getting smaller and bigger at the same time,” she said. “Because of our technology, students today have access to a larger world. The challenge of teachers today is to prepare children for a world that does not yet exist. And our rapidly changing world will demand more thought and knowledge. Do I believe teachers can save the world? Yes, I do!”

Pastor Warren Robinson told the attendees, approximately 80 in number, that those who are leaders need to thank a teacher.

“If you have succeeded in life, you need to thank a teacher,” he said. “Whatever you have achieved, you need to thank a teacher.”

Hill segued her speech into highlighting the recipient of the award.

“It occurs to me that we must salute you, Ms. Trudell, for inspiring so many young minds, and I am sure you are one who realizes the great responsibility that teachers hold in our world,” Hill said.

Trudell, with tears in her eyes, was then called to the stage.

“I spent 20 years in the military,” she said. “After that, I became a teacher. And I can tell you that teaching is the toughest job I have ever had.”

Trudell said when she sees people in the various places she has taught, she knows she has accomplished something to be proud of.

“I have never been so honored as I am this evening,” she said. “I thank you all.”

Robinson said it has become a tradition in presenting the award that a former recipient do so. HMS teacher Dale Emmert, the 2003 recipient, presented the award to Trudell, who received a standing ovation for her achievement.