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Dancing
The 2016 Texas Teacher of the Year shares
her motivations, her hopes for her students,
and her unique approach to the classroom.
with the
Dafodils
W
hen 2016 Texas Teacher of the Year
and Round Rock ATPE member
Revathi Balakrishnan talks about her
favorite poem, William Wordsworth's
"The Dafodils," she becomes almost breathless
with excitement. "It is the world's best poem, in my
opinion," she says, glowingly. "I give it to my students
every year."
Balakrishnan, a talented and gifted (TAG) specialist
at Patsy Sommer Elementary, was a systems analyst
before she made the leap into education. She has been
teaching both math and language arts for 10 years.
In addition to teaching TAG courses for frst through
ffth graders, Balakrishnan leads the school's robotics
and coding clubs, and she headed up the chess club
until her growing Teacher of the Year duties meant
she had to prune her schedule. In keeping with her
clear love of literature, Balakrishnan also coordinates
student performances of Shakespeare; she even started
the district's own Shakespeare festival, in which other
Round Rock elementary schools participate.
Growing up in India, Balakrishnan learned about
the value of education from her philanthropic father.
Despite having lived in the United States for more than
30 years, she still feels deeply connected to India and
frequently works alongside her brother, who volunteers
for Rotary International, to help fund projects that
support education in her native country.
One of Balakrishnan's true pleasures in life is sharing
literature and poetry, like "The Dafodils," with her
students. She hopes to inspire them to greater
heights, as she herself was inspired by her brilliant
but physically challenged grandfather. In addition
to introducing her to Wordsworth, he taught her
compassion and strength in difcult times. Balakrishnan
works to instill these same lessons in her own students,
and her greatest hope is that they, too, will serve as an
inspiration to others.
Interview by Leslie Trahan • Photos by Erica Fos