Rounding out the 2023 – 2024 school year is the May Teacher of the Month. Even though it’s summer break, it was no less exciting to be at Wingo Elementary to award Mr. Dustin Wells with the honor. Mr. Wells teaches music and art to 380 elementary students and is the assistant band director at Graves County High School.
Here are the Teacher of the Month questions.
Q: How do you remember all your students’ names?
A: Spending a lot of time with the students in the beginning of the year, we will do some name games. Sometimes I do accidently call a student by another name, I say “Sorry” but I do that with my own two kids! It happens.
Q: What is your first memory of teaching?
A: Before I was hired for this position, I was covering for a teacher on maternity leave. I just remember coming in right in the middle of the year and “oh my gosh I have 380 kids and they don’t know who I am and I have a different teaching style than the previous teacher.” And I just had to do my best.
Q: Did you always want to be a teacher?
A: Not through high school. I wanted to be a lawyer because I watched Law & Order but I did my senior project and realized that I wouldn’t be in the courtroom as much as I would have to be in the books! I wanted to go to college and since I love music and being in band. I started to love teaching. I tell my high schoolers all the time that things can change!
Q: What are some things you do outside of school?
A: I run Wishing Well BBQ We have a food truck and we set up all around. We do catering and on social media I do recipe videos. Through my BBQ business we raised over $10,000 for the Family Resource Center after the Mayfield tornado.
Q: What is a way you get your students excited for class?
A: I just try to be very excited myself. The way you present yourself is so important. If you act like you don’t want to be there, kids will feed off that. Being excited sometimes makes the kids REALLY excited so we have to make sure we dial it back sometimes.
Q: If you could take your students anywhere on a field trip, where would you go?
A: So many things come to mind. I would love to take them to see a great marching band. Drum Corps would be cool. I think they would enjoy the many things happening on the field. It is so excited and I think it would get the kids excited.
Q: How do you show your school spirit?
A: I am always repping Graves County clothes! And our Wingo shirts. I talk about our schools with a lot of my friends and I never have anything bad to say because Graves County really takes care of us!
Q: How has technology helped or hurt your classroom?
A: I think it’s helped my classroom a lot. There so many things online that are interactive. Our kids play video games and they love it. The days of everyone sitting at a desk and the teacher writing on the board and the student taking notes are gone. The way we do things has changed. I think integrating technology is good.
Q: How do you want your students to remember you?
A: I want them to remember me as the teacher that really, truly cared about them and gave them a chance. Some students feel like it’s teacher vs. student sometimes and I want them to know that I am trying to make their life better. Let’s work together.
Q: Is there a quote or saying that you live your life by?
A: “Be the best you can be.” It’s pretty simple. I tell my students “I don’t care what you do, but be the best you can be at it.”
.
West Kentucky Star Teacher of the Month, sponsored by Scott Walker Construction, is awarded each month of the school year. As the May winner, Mr. Wells joins the other Teachers of the Month in August for West Kentucky Star Teacher of the Year 2023-2024.
In the picture above: Wingo Elementary Principal Scott Bradley and Teacher of the Month Dustin Wells.
(photo courtesy of Ashley Fralicx, Graves County Schools Public Information Officer)
Here are the Teacher of the Month questions.
Q: How do you remember all your students’ names?
A: Spending a lot of time with the students in the beginning of the year, we will do some name games. Sometimes I do accidently call a student by another name, I say “Sorry” but I do that with my own two kids! It happens.
Q: What is your first memory of teaching?
A: Before I was hired for this position, I was covering for a teacher on maternity leave. I just remember coming in right in the middle of the year and “oh my gosh I have 380 kids and they don’t know who I am and I have a different teaching style than the previous teacher.” And I just had to do my best.
Q: Did you always want to be a teacher?
A: Not through high school. I wanted to be a lawyer because I watched Law & Order but I did my senior project and realized that I wouldn’t be in the courtroom as much as I would have to be in the books! I wanted to go to college and since I love music and being in band. I started to love teaching. I tell my high schoolers all the time that things can change!
Q: What are some things you do outside of school?
A: I run Wishing Well BBQ We have a food truck and we set up all around. We do catering and on social media I do recipe videos. Through my BBQ business we raised over $10,000 for the Family Resource Center after the Mayfield tornado.
Q: What is a way you get your students excited for class?
A: I just try to be very excited myself. The way you present yourself is so important. If you act like you don’t want to be there, kids will feed off that. Being excited sometimes makes the kids REALLY excited so we have to make sure we dial it back sometimes.
Q: If you could take your students anywhere on a field trip, where would you go?
A: So many things come to mind. I would love to take them to see a great marching band. Drum Corps would be cool. I think they would enjoy the many things happening on the field. It is so excited and I think it would get the kids excited.
Q: How do you show your school spirit?
A: I am always repping Graves County clothes! And our Wingo shirts. I talk about our schools with a lot of my friends and I never have anything bad to say because Graves County really takes care of us!
Q: How has technology helped or hurt your classroom?
A: I think it’s helped my classroom a lot. There so many things online that are interactive. Our kids play video games and they love it. The days of everyone sitting at a desk and the teacher writing on the board and the student taking notes are gone. The way we do things has changed. I think integrating technology is good.
Q: How do you want your students to remember you?
A: I want them to remember me as the teacher that really, truly cared about them and gave them a chance. Some students feel like it’s teacher vs. student sometimes and I want them to know that I am trying to make their life better. Let’s work together.
Q: Is there a quote or saying that you live your life by?
A: “Be the best you can be.” It’s pretty simple. I tell my students “I don’t care what you do, but be the best you can be at it.”
.
West Kentucky Star Teacher of the Month, sponsored by Scott Walker Construction, is awarded each month of the school year. As the May winner, Mr. Wells joins the other Teachers of the Month in August for West Kentucky Star Teacher of the Year 2023-2024.
In the picture above: Wingo Elementary Principal Scott Bradley and Teacher of the Month Dustin Wells.
(photo courtesy of Ashley Fralicx, Graves County Schools Public Information Officer)
