Muscogee Teacher of the Year gala is one big spectacular celebration | Opinion

This Thursday is our city’s Teacher of the Year Gala. I must admit; I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve been a teacher for almost 25 years.

First of all, before I attended my first Muscogee County School District TOTY Gala in 2015, I had never ever been to anything worthy to be called a gala. The fanciest event I had attended was an evening wedding or maybe the several proms I chaperoned as part of my teacher duties, but definitely nothing to this magnitude.

I also didn’t even know how to properly pronounce the word gala. Was it gay-lah with the long a sound or ga-lah with the short one? And I certainly didn’t know it was going to be such a spectacle, such a marvel, such an impressive event where over 1,500 people dress up, eat a nice meal together, and spend an entire evening doing one thing: celebrating teachers.

For me, my first TOTY Gala was and will remain the most impactful moment of my entire career, and every gala since has been icing on the cake. They never cease to amaze and move me. I think it’s because of the magnitude of the support and the massive statement the community makes for its teachers. Columbus is lucky. Not every city has and does what we have and do.

I haven’t spent my entire career in Columbus, Georgia. I’ve shared a classroom with kids in South Carolina, North Carolina, and even Vienna, Austria. I’ve worked with some mighty teachers along the way, all of whom deserve a night like the TOTY Gala in Columbus, Georgia. Sometimes I wish I could grab some of my colleagues from along the way and set them at a table in the Trade Center’s ballroom and let them see the festivities, hear the accolades, feel the appreciation for what teachers do.

Especially in our current crazy world, what a much-needed, timely testimony for teachers to hear. They are a collection of brave, committed, hopeful people who heed a call that nowadays isn’t as loud, boisterous, and obvious as it used to be. In the past, the teaching profession was attractive. It was right up there with law and medicine, and lots of kids dreamed of becoming a teacher. A college’s School of Education was their money-maker, always busting at the seams with new recruits. Young kids listed it on their dream boards as often as they listed astronauts and firemen. Children mimicked classrooms in their bedrooms with teddy bears and crayons.

Today…not so much.

We’re in the midst of a teaching crisis, if you ask me, and, of course, no one has asked me. But I’ll share the obvious reality with you all anyway. Every school selects a TOTY to represent their schools. That’s 54 teachers who stand in line to buy tickets as if they’re attending to get into a Taylor Swift concert, gather their favorite people, dress up, and walk into a magically transformed Trade Center ballroom jam pack full of people there to see them. Those same schools are plagued with similar challenges: not enough teachers to fill the empty positions, teacher burnout, lack of substitutes, loss of planning periods…unfortunately the list goes on.

The unfortunate point is, teachers need something positive in their work lives. They need action behind their words. They need to see and hear it. The TOTY Gala is one really neat way our great city is stopping everything for one evening to lift a unified message teachers need desperately to hear.

People are flocking to a ballroom, decked out in their finest to show teachers that they are valued. To notice and proclaim their appreciation for what they do for children. To loudly applaud their committed efforts to speak life into the potential of our most prized treasures. To stand in solidarity as a collection of community dignitaries, corporate leaders, and fellow educators to say with one voice: We celebrate YOU, Teachers.

From the kindergarten teacher at River Road Elementary to the band teacher at Rainey Mc-Cullers School of the Arts to the English teacher at Columbus High School every teacher walks into an atmosphere of delightful celebration. They are taken on a fantasy ride far away from the stresses of their classroom. It’s magical. Simply put, it’s magical.

And that evening of celebration happens this week, and an entire city’s teaching force is bustling with excitement. Ladies are scheduling their hair and nail appointments; men are getting their suits dry cleaned and pressed. It’s one of the most, if not the, most highly anticipated events of a teacher’s careers. There’s nothing like it.

And I’m glad. We all should be glad. Glad that a community rallies around its teachers. Glad that companies donate money for such a token of appreciation as the TOTY gala.

Glad that city leaders don’t just attend, but also lift their voices in defined acknowledgement and support. Glad that a man, many years ago wanted to stand up and make a bold statement about the merit and excellence of Columbus, Georgia’s teachers. Glad that he created the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation to spearhead such a novel idea as dedicating time, energy, and funds to say to teachers: we see your hard work; we notice your commitment to our children; we recognize your efforts; and we reward your dedication.

It’s a spectacle alright. A beautiful, magical, wonderful spectacle. Hope to see you there one year.

Sheryl Green is a proud teacher in Columbus, Georgia. To correspond with Sheryl, email her at sherylgreen14@yahoo.com

This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM.