Rachael Maves: Hello everyone. You are listening to the Rachael Maves podcast and I'm Rachael Maves, your host. Today we are speaking with Missy Testerman. Missy, the 2024 National Teacher of the Year in my home state, Tennessee, has dedicated over 30 years at in education at Rogersville City School in Tennessee. She currently serves as the school's ESL specialist and program director, supporting immigrant students and fostering inclusive learning. With a strong belief in empowering educators and building community, she advocates for culturally responsive teaching and teacher voice and education policy.

Testerman holds degrees in elementary and reading education and continues to mentor new teachers and lead community programs. Missy, thank you for joining me. Today.

Missy Testerman: Oh, thank you so much for having me, Rachael. It's always nice to chat with a fellow Tennessean and I'm thrilled to be here today and I'm so excited.

Rachael Maves: I congratulations again. What a huge accomplishment having been at TDOE. I know all of the work that happens on the back end and is so exciting. I just congratulations again.

Missy Testerman: Oh, thank you so much. And I'm I'm so appreciative to the people at TDOE who helped me work through the process, once I was named Tennessee teacher of the year, to enter into the cohort with the 2024 state teachers of the year. And I'm just really thankful especially for Sarah Brown and Martha Moore, both of whom had a very large part in helping me craft an application that reflected who I am and what I believe in. So I'm always thankful to TDOE for that support.

Rachael Maves: I love it. Well, we're going to jump right in and I'm really excited just to get to know you a little bit more and hear more about your. Story. So, tell us, why education? What was the draw to choose that career path?

Missy Testerman: Well, Rachael, I think I knew from the time I was 5 years old. Wasn't any great philosophical moment that happened for me, other than that, whenever I went to kindergarten, I met my kindergarten teacher. Her name was Mrs. Brown. She was sweet and funny and I fell in love with her. I fell in love with our classroom and I just fell in love with the whole process that we go through as humans when we learn things.

I can remember just being so proud of other students in my classroom when they would learn things as well, because I thought she was. Magic. All she had to do was to tell us things and show us things, and I was able to continue throughout my educational career and I had teachers who invested in me and just showed me that was the job that I someday wanted to have. So, I'm I'm one of those people who never had a doubt they were meant to be a teacher from the very beginning. That was the call right day one.

Rachael Maves: It's amazing to me how many teachers will say it's this teacher, that's, or a whole host of teachers, that really poured into me and I wanted to be able to do the. Same.

Missy Testerman: It is. It's just, I think it speaks to the career and the pathway of education and the importance of that. Yeah, absolutely. And the power that teachers have to show our students what they could someday be. And that continues even today. So we have teachers out those, sewing those seeds every single day.

Rachael Maves: Yeah, that's right. Absolutely. So, as we think about just education, where things are at right now, what keeps you up at night? And I'm especially interested in kind of twofold. You're, you've had this really rich career in the classroom and have that lens, and you have this lens now of being this national teacher and having conversations in a much different. Space.

I'd love to hear from both sides what really is keeping you up at night.

Missy Testerman: I would love to tell you that those are two separate answers, but what I saw, you know, last year, I'm I'm on leave during my year of service as the national teacher of the year, but what I saw in the classroom over the past few years, past two to three years, is what I'm seeing reflected in classrooms around the country, the struggles that the teachers in my school system face are the same struggles that teachers are facing. And a lot of it centers around coming out of the. Pandemic. So I think that there's this thought that we should be over all of this because the pandemic is over. But when you've only lived on this earth, seven or eight years, and two to three years of your life, your formative years were spent in a pandemic when there were not the same routines in place. That's going to play a part in our students development and we're still seeing that.

Obviously there's unfinished learning. Teachers worked so hard during the pandemic. I know because I was a teacher during the pandemic and it's the hardest that my colleagues and I ever worked. But it's not the same as being able to build a relationship with students who are in your classroom every single. Day. And that's been part of it.

Also, a lot of the disruption has taken an emotional toll on our students. We're in the midst of a student mental health crisis. And that's everything from really young students who aren't able to regulate themselves or their behavior, all the way through our middle schoolers and high schoolers who are dealing with, you know, issues of anxiety and depression. And that's placed a lot on the shoulders of teachers, who already had a lot on their shoulders to begin with. So I think it is just seeing that so many students and teachers are still struggling, but our teachers, no matter what, they just keep plugging away and they keep working so hard and so much has been added to them and yet they just keep doing so much. But deep inside, because I'm a little older and I know how hard this job is and when you can't keep up a certain level of emotional and physical ex exertion without getting.

Exhausted. I worry long term about what this is doing to the teaching profession. We know that lots of teachers have left the field and we've got to figure out a way to keep our best and brightest teachers in the classroom, because we need them more than ever. So probably that, for me, is the big thing that keeps me up at night.

Rachael Maves: Yeah. Before we get into some ideas to move forward, I just wanted to pause a little bit on one of the things that you said about the unregulated behavior, especially younger and younger. And when I, even prior to the pandemic, I was starting to hear that often when I was at the county office and then at the state of directors and superintendent saying,: "We're seeing behaviors that we saw in middle? School. We're now starting to see in like first and grade and kindergarten, and this opens up a whole different door of how do we deal with this and what does this mean and look like and I mean I just love your thoughts on that, because you've had such a long career in education. Is that something that you experience as well and, as you're looking at that kind of trajectory, some of those things getting pushed down earlier and earlier from students?

Missy Testerman: Unfortunately it is. I saw some of it when I was still in the general classroom. I taught first and second grades for 30 years. And, like you said, right before the pandemic, we were seeing more of those disregulation type issues. 100%. It seems to be even more so after the pandemic.

And it's harder and harder for these little ones to regulate their behavior. And the reality is, when you have that situation going on your classroom, it isn't just that one student who's affected. Every other student, it's the teacher dealing with it. It's whoever comes to the aid of the teacher dealing with it. The first year that I was in the role that I am now being the ESL teacher, because when you're the ESL teacher, you're all over the place and there's some travel within the building. I was shocked at how many battles and fires that our teachers are having to fight every single day just to survive.

And that's emotionally hard. It's hard for other students in the classroom. It's hard for, you know, adults who are intervening. So, I appreciate that you acknowledge that's something that you've also seen, because unless you're in that setting,. Yeah. You don't often understand what that looks like, how disruptive it is, and how mentally heavy it is for the adult dealing with it.

Yeah.

Rachael Maves: Well, and just what a an additional barrier to an already complex position that now we're having to navigate in a way that we just didn't before. And you know, like dealing with middle schoolers and high schoolers and those behaviors is very different than primary grades. And so when it's brought down to primary grades, then it's like it's a whole new beats of trying to figure out how do we navigate this with kids that are still young. Yes. Yes. Because you know, our middle schoolers and high schoolers, they care a lot about what their peers.

Think.

Missy Testerman: Yes, that's right. A 5-year-old who's upset that the iPad is going back into the cart, they just do not care what their peers think. That's an entirely as someone who's witnessed both ends of that. I've been in classrooms and situations where I've seen an eighth grader have a meltdown and I've seen a kindergarter. I will almost take the eighth grade meltdown any day of. Because the eighth grader still has some care about what his or her peers think.

That 12-year-old, in that moment, you know, they've not learned those regulative behaviors yet.

Rachael Maves: Well, developmentally, they're in a whole different place.

Missy Testerman: [speaker uncertain] Yeah. Yes.

Rachael Maves: All of the great things that we just talked about and some of the things that we're seeing in the field. What are two ways that you feel like we could move forward?

Missy Testerman: I feel like that we have to start from a human centered approach. I feel like that relationships have to be in place so that, while teachers are delivering academic content, they still have time to engage with students and make sure they're learning what they're supposed to be and that they're able to offer support along the way. So I suppose the first part of that for me is that we have to lead with relationships, because relationships are actually an academic strategy. That's right. When students know that you care and students have this feeling of, hey, she's depending on me to do well, because that shows her that I'm. Learning.

I think that you're always going to have better student outcomes. So, we have to lead with relationships. And probably, Rachael, the most important thing is that we have to empower our teachers to be co-designers and not just implementers. For a really long time, we've continued to just give things to teachers and be like, "Hey, here's this program. Here's this technology. It's what you're going to do.", And we haven't really used the input of teachers, who can already tell you what's going to work and what won't work.

So our teachers have a lot of programs being thrust on them, but we really need their input to shape what ha happens next, because, unfortunately, in any organization, a topdown. Approach is always questionable, because the people closest to the students, the people doing the work, the teachers, a lot of times have the least amount of input, and that's a problem. You know, all across our country. So, we have to listen to our teachers and their expertise.

Rachael Maves: Yeah, I love that. I want to just come back really quickly to the relationship building. I think for me, when I was in the classroom, Missy, the I often think this is such an easy piece, but then there, sometimes it's not. And being able to have and share with other educators. What are those like really simple ways in which you can connect with students that show them that you? Care?

And I'll. I'll give a quick example of my own, but I would love your thoughts on this. One of the things that I so I taught high school. I was a former high school English teacher. And at the beginning of every year, now there's technology that can do this, but I would have like a piece of paper that said,: "Give me your name, your parents information, like cell phone number, so just in case I could call and connect with them, but then also ask them what was their? Like $150 something.".

So on those days where it was just they're having the worst day possible, like the Alexander, no good, terrible, horrible, bad day, like what is that thing that just fills your? Bucket? And then every once in a while, when something would come up, I would share that with the student, like and it was simple, like a bag of Skittles or you know something like that, but it was like a I see you. That just meant the world to them. And I think it's things like that sometimes that we miss. But I love, like easy things that come to mind for you, that you've done or you've seen.

Missy Testerman: And I will tell you, Rachael, I love that story. And it is teachers like you who did those things. That are the little things, that are really the big things that my own children, who are adults, now reflect on later in. Life. You know, they don't remember awesome lessons and those things, but they remember that after you had a concussion in a ball game, that someone heated up mac and cheese for you because you were still confused about how to use the lunch line. So those are the things that students remember.

You know, I spend most of my career teaching really young students and probably the most simple thing that you can do is to, you know, greet them at the door every day. You're not busy when they get there, because you're just happy to see them. And I learned so many things in those 30-second interactions as they came. In. And also when they're having snack time, if you have little ones, just sit down at a table, because students will talk when they're eating and they'll kind of forget where they are and open up to you. And one of my favorite things to do with my middle schoolers, in the role I have now, is to have lunch with them, because they get in there and they tell you everything going on with everyone and things that are bothering them and that doesn't cost a dime.

You know, occasionally I bring cookies or, you know, my students have never had apple pie and apple pie is supposed to be the American. Dessert.

Rachael Maves: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Missy Testerman: Well, but most of the time they just show up on Wednesdays for lunch. Doesn't cost anything. And I get to spend time with them. They look forward to it. And in my case, as an ESL teacher, it's a perfect opportunity to practice speaking skills as well, in a sneaky way.

Rachael Maves: Yeah, absolutely. I love that. Yeah.

Missy Testerman: You know, it's funny because we the greeting at the door, Missy, I always thought was the best idea and it was something I incorporated even with the high school kid because, like because I think sometimes we think high schoolers, you know, they're too cool, they don't want to engage, but there's so many things that work with kindergarteners, that also work with a high. Schooler. I told everyone when I moved into this role, because I teach in a preK through 8th grade building, that eighth graders are really just like second graders, who are maybe not as cute and don't smell as good, but it's the same. It's the same kid in a bigger body, and it's the truth.

Rachael Maves: Yeah, I agree. Yep. Well, this is our last question that I'm always curious to see people's response to is: what question in education are we not asking that we really should be?

Missy Testerman: That one's, that one's really hard. But for me, Rachael, I think it is simply the question, what does enough look like? When is enough? And here's why I say that. We keep adding more and more things to the plates of our teachers. You know, every single legislative session in every state across the country, there are bills passed in the law that mandate teachers must now teach this, schools must teach this.

Well, our students are only with us a limited amount of time.

Rachael Maves: That's right.

Missy Testerman: Per day. And we keep adding more and more things that teachers and schools must do. And we're not subtracting anything, more programs, more. Expectations. And all of these things lead, unfortunately, to more assessments and more testing that takes away from the time that teachers would like to be teaching. So for me, and as a quiet observer this year of, and having conversations with teachers from across the country and also through my state teacher of the year cohort, it is: when is enough?

You know, when do we s decide what's really important? And what do we need to teach to create well-rounded students who are kind, who have compassion for each other and humanity, but when is enough? For me, I think that's the biggest thing. We only have so many hours in a day. And it's like, and you'll hear that even in conversations, you know, I was at church the other day and someone didn't know how to do. Oh, they didn't know how to fold the bulletin thing to into thirds.

You know, they had just put the stack of church bulletins out instead of folding them into thirds, because that's, you know, it takes a long. Time. And so we were watching some other adults struggle with that. And someone said they need to teach that in schools. And I just cringed because I was like, when do we have the time to do that? Really?

So, you know, and that's just a little example, but you hear that so many times, you know, that needs to be taught in school. You know, it feels like we're teaching everything already. Oh, I, for me, it would be: when is enough, and what can we take away that will make our teachers have more time to actually teach the things that are going to impact these students in the. Future?

Rachael Maves: Yeah, I appreciate that one, Missy. Of all the podcasts that we've done so far, I haven't heard that one. And I think that you're right, it is critical because, especially lately, it feels like there has been just a lot more legislation coming on, as if education or schools are going to be the vehicle for whatever is happening in this exterior piece in society right now. And yeah, it's a big lift. Big lift. Yeah.

Well, thank you, Missy, for your time today. I just really appreciate it.

Missy Testerman: Well, thank you, Rachael. I've loved talking with you and I appreciate you inviting me on here and for your work, keeping the challenges that we face and the successes that we get to witness, you know, front and center on your. Podcast. I really appreciate you and your work. Thank you.

Rachael Maves: Friendly reminder everyone that Parsec Education's early bird sale for the summit is live. Get 50% off tickets for the 2026 Measure What We Value Summit happening February 4th through 5th in Fresno, California. Don't miss this limited time offer and the opportunity to experience our incredible EMC, Brandon Leak, season 15 winner of America's Got Talent. Secure your tickets now at.

---

This transcript was created from the episode's captions and lightly edited for readability. It may contain small errors; please refer to the audio for exact wording.