Fatheree: People Worldwide are Wanting to Know About Effingham

(EFFINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL JASON FOX, GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE FINALIST JOE FATHEREE, AND E-H-S ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL CODY LEWIS)

Global Teacher Prize Finalist Joe Fatheree told the Effingham Noon Rotary Wednesday that while he has gained notoriety as a result of the contest, so has the Effingham community.

Fatheree was being trailed during the Rotary presentation by a freelance film crew from Chicago preparing a news report for a television station in France. He said film crews have been in Effingham on a regular basis since the Global Teacher Prize announcements. 

Fatheree said people want to know about the Effingham area and the secret to its success. He said one key is that the community has been supportive of education. He mentioned the support given the CEO Program that is now being replicated in school districts across the nation, but said the same support is seen on a regular basis.

Fatheree said his mission for the rest of his life is to promote education and to see it celebrated as a noble profession. He notes that few of his students have plans to go into teaching, far fewer than was once the case in his classes. He added that by 2030, it is projected there will be a need for 25.8 million teachers around the world.

Effingham High School Principal Jason Fox and High School Assistant Principal Cody Lewis, who made the trip with Fatheree, were also on hand for the Rotary presentation.

Fox said he's pleased that education is now #4 on the U.N.'s list of Top 10 issues needing addressed, behind hunger, poverty and health care. He said, though, that Sonny Varkey, who sponsors the Global Teacher Prize, believes education can fix those three issues.

Fatheree said there is so much testing required in education, "we've seen students lose the opportunity to learn" and hopes for ways to restore imagination and innovation to more classrooms than just his.

Lewis told Rotarians seven teachers have volunteered at EHS to discuss restoring creativity and innovation to the classroom. He also spoke about initiatives underway at the high school to foster creative thinking. Those include a Books for Haiti project, Stoves for Africa since many students are too hungry to study or have to go out foraging for food for their families so can't attend classes, a Sister Classroom with a school in India, and ways to further incorporate technology into classrooms.

Fox agrees that we need to think globally, saying it was thrilling to see the vice president of the United Arab Emirates working with Pope Francis to present the Global Teacher Prize to a Palestinian woman. He said the significance of that moment was not lost on anyone at the ceremony.