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’88 alumna receives distinguished teacher award
Sep 1, 2004 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Liz Awsumb (’88), daughter of longtime Darlington faculty members George and Betsy Awsumb, received Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School’s Lorena Webber Walker Award for 2004. Given in memory of the founding headmistress of Grace-St. Luke’s, this is the only faculty award given each year.
“This award is given to a member of the faculty or staff who has distinguished him/herself in the past year as being the best example of what it means to be a member of the Grace-St. Luke’s community – to be an excellent teacher, a supportive and collegial member of the staff, a caring and respectful listener of children and a helpful resource for parents,” said Headmaster Tom Beazley, who presented the award at Honors Chapel on May 26.
Awsumb, who has taught junior kindergarten at the school since 1996, said she actually came into teaching by accident. “I was an art history major in college, and I wanted a break before I thought about graduate school,” she said. “I started teaching in a Montessori School here in Memphis, because I was looking for work that was more active than an academic career.”
After she started teaching, there was no looking back. She then went back to school for a Masters in Early Childhood Education. “It is exhausting, but gratifying in an immediate way,” said Awsumb. “Teaching young children is very hands-on. It is easy to tell with 4-year-olds whether or not you are teaching them, because they are on task and are having a good time.”
And according to Beazley, Awsumb’s students can’t help but be that way. “When speaking to a child, she gives [the child] her undivided and complete attention as she listens to [his or her] stories or tales of woe,” said Beazley. “I have never heard this teacher raise her voice in anger or frustration, but I have often seen her on bended knees, giving quiet encouragement or assistance. Her classroom is always a beehive of activity – not one of chaos, but one of purposeful work.”
Over the years, Awsumb has also assumed other roles in the Grace-St. Luke’s community, including chairing a SACS accreditation committee, assisting preschool teachers with computer needs and assisting with an upcoming NAEYC accreditation.
Awsumb is the middle child of three daughters involved in education.
“This award is given to a member of the faculty or staff who has distinguished him/herself in the past year as being the best example of what it means to be a member of the Grace-St. Luke’s community – to be an excellent teacher, a supportive and collegial member of the staff, a caring and respectful listener of children and a helpful resource for parents,” said Headmaster Tom Beazley, who presented the award at Honors Chapel on May 26.
Awsumb, who has taught junior kindergarten at the school since 1996, said she actually came into teaching by accident. “I was an art history major in college, and I wanted a break before I thought about graduate school,” she said. “I started teaching in a Montessori School here in Memphis, because I was looking for work that was more active than an academic career.”
After she started teaching, there was no looking back. She then went back to school for a Masters in Early Childhood Education. “It is exhausting, but gratifying in an immediate way,” said Awsumb. “Teaching young children is very hands-on. It is easy to tell with 4-year-olds whether or not you are teaching them, because they are on task and are having a good time.”
And according to Beazley, Awsumb’s students can’t help but be that way. “When speaking to a child, she gives [the child] her undivided and complete attention as she listens to [his or her] stories or tales of woe,” said Beazley. “I have never heard this teacher raise her voice in anger or frustration, but I have often seen her on bended knees, giving quiet encouragement or assistance. Her classroom is always a beehive of activity – not one of chaos, but one of purposeful work.”
Over the years, Awsumb has also assumed other roles in the Grace-St. Luke’s community, including chairing a SACS accreditation committee, assisting preschool teachers with computer needs and assisting with an upcoming NAEYC accreditation.
Awsumb is the middle child of three daughters involved in education.
