[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 140 (Thursday, October 1, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2435-E2436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING WOODY WATSON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 2009

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, my grandmother taught for 40 years and my 
sister Beverly, taught for over 30 years in the public

[[Page E2436]]

schools of Tennessee. I am proud of both of them.
  In Tuesday's Knoxville News Sentinel, there was an interview with 
Woody Watson, whom I have known since high school.
  Mr. Watson has now taught in Knox County Tennessee where I also am 
from, for 41 years. Very few people teach for that long, and those who 
do should be highly praised.
  I admire and respect Woody Watson for his many years of dedication to 
the young people of east Tennessee.
  I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and other 
readers of the Record, the News Sentinel interview with Mr. Watson.

                  [From knoxnews.com, Sept. 29, 2009]

               40 Years of Educating: Watson and Anderson

                           (By Jessica Boyd)

       Editor's Note: The News Sentinel will profile two local 
     teachers who each have about 40 years of education experience 
     within the community in this twice monthly series.


                         Woody Watson, 41 years

       Woody Watson, 62, says a smile and a kind word goes a long 
     way when dealing with students. He should know since he's 
     been smiling and speaking kindly to them for 41 years. The 
     Knoxville native taught eighth-grade science at Karns Middle 
     School for 23 years before he spent nine years at Northwest 
     Middle School teaching the same thing. He's been back in 
     action as a seventh-grade teacher at Karns Middle since 2001. 
     ``I always tell people, I taught eighth grade for 32 years,'' 
     the University of Tennessee graduate in natural science said 
     before he laughed. ``And then I got demoted.''
       Why teaching? ``I liked the subject matter, and I like 
     being around young people, they keep me young at heart. I 
     just couldn't go sit at a cubicle and do the same thing every 
     day.''
       What techniques do you use to teach? ``I like to have 
     students get involved and be hands on in the science lab to 
     help them understand the world they live in.''
       Do you have a favorite year? ``I think that would probably 
     be 1986. The highlight of that year is we took a trip to New 
     Orleans for a long weekend, and (the students) learned about 
     the history of the area.''
       What has changed for better since you've been teaching? 
     ``Our class averages were lowered. State law has limited that 
     to 30 in seventh and eighth grade . . . It really makes a 
     difference to have five or six fewer kids in a class.''
       What has changed for worse since you've been teaching? 
     ``When I came to Karns, it was a small farming community. Of 
     course now the farms have been sold off, and it's wall-to-
     wall subdivisions, so just the lack of the community 
     closeness and the breakdown of the family.''
       What's been the best advancement in education? ``Probably 
     all the information available online . . . I think Karns 
     Middle was one of the first schools to have a computer lab 
     when the first Apple computers came out back in the 80s. That 
     area of technology has made a lot of opportunities for our 
     students. It also presents some problems if the parents don't 
     monitor what the kids are doing.''
       Do you have any words of wisdom for teachers just starting 
     out? ``Be patient, keep up with your paperwork, and try not 
     to be overwhelmed with all the things you have to do that's 
     not related to the teaching of students.''


                       Archie Anderson, 42 years

       Archie Anderson, 65, taught for 26 years at Maryville 
     Middle School before he made the big switch to 
     administration. For 12 years, he was the assistant principal 
     of the middle school before he made an even bigger switch. 
     Now he's in charge of transportation and attendance for 
     Maryville City Schools. Archie graduated from Maryville 
     College and received his master's degree at Tennessee Tech.
       What do you do now?
       ``I come up with bus routes, and I work with the bus owner. 
     I'm kind of a trouble shooter. I handle all parent and or 
     school complaints and try to resolve all those.''
       What did you teach before you moved into administration?
       ``I taught P.E. I coached football, basketball and track 
     for about 26 years.''
       Did you have a favorite year when you were teaching?
       ``I enjoyed the early years because being a younger guy, it 
     seemed like I had better relationships with kids. As you get 
     older and your hair's grey and you have more wrinkles, kids 
     are more standoffish.''
       What's the coolest technological advancement you've seen?
       ``Computers in the classroom and access to the internet. 
     Everything you want is there. The negative part is we've got 
     text messaging and cell phones in the classroom. So 
     (technology) is not all good. That's a daily struggle.''
       Do you miss teaching? ``I miss the relationship with the 
     students. I don't get to know the students as well as I used 
     to. I have gotten to know the staff better . . . I've really 
     gotten to know the administrators of the schools.''

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