Golden Apple Award: Hannah Wilson, Soddy Daisy High School
SODDY DAISY, Tenn. (WDEF) – The written word comes to life in Hannah Wilson’s 9th grade English class at Soddy Daisy. Her lessons are structured, to be sure, but there is a healthy dose of kindness mixed in. All that earned Ms. Wilson the Golden Apple Award.
Angie Cass is the principal at Soddy Daisy.
She says, “Miss Wilson tirelessly works for her students. She is a new teacher to Saudi Daisy High school this year and she has set the place on fire in 9th grade English. And they do lots of amazing things in this classroom every single day.”
When asked to describe herself, Ms. Wilson says, “I am an ambitious teacher. I like to make sure my students always feel included and have a space in my classroom. I couldn’t imagine myself being in any other school. This is the best place in Hamilton County, I have to say. The staff here is incredible. I feel so supported. The students are even more incredible.”
Ninth grader William Boyd chips in, “Miss Wilson likes to try and keep us on track while having fun at the same time.”
Hannah Wilson adds, “I just like connecting with students. I think it’s an incredible thing. You can’t really do this in any other job. There is always something exciting here that I get to experience, and my students are always surprising me, sometimes in the best ways possible.”
She continues, “I actually motivated myself to become a teacher. So, my students know I’m all on the autism spectrum, and I never had that support when I was their age. So, I wanted to be someone who could show them that almost anything is possible. They can do anything they set their mind to. This is Vienna. She’s an autism service dog. She trained for three years in Oregon before she came here to work with me and work with my students.”
Ninth grader Paige Ormsby says, “She’s one of my favorite teachers. She really helps us whenever we need her, and I can always rely on her.”
Kiana Crawford adds, ” She’s like the coolest teacher I’ve ever had.”
Miss Wilson concludes, “Well, I’m hoping to just stay here as long as I can and become a better teacher every day. That’s my goal. That’s why I’m here. It’s not worth it if you’re not learning, you need to learn every day. I just want them to remember that they are important, and I want them to know that about me. Just to realize what they learned about me, about people with disabilities, to use that when they go out in the world and to treat others the way they want to be treated.”
