EudoraNews.com

Eudora-De Soto Technical Education Center health careers instructor Andrea Pyle said she is learning as much as she is teaching.

She’s learning about her students, her curriculum, the school district and herself.

“The mental stimulation has been good because I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years wondering, ‘do I still have any brain cells left,’” said Pyle, who was named the Eudora Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Month for January. “So, I’m finding I do, and that’s good.”

For about 12 years, Pyle was a radiological, ultrasound and nuclear medicine technologist. The mother of seven then pulled out of her career little by little as her family grew. About four years ago, Eudora-De Soto Technical Education Center Principal Ron Abel approached her about teaching, which she does on a part-time basis with both middle school and high school students.

Abel said Pyle’s professional experience in health careers makes her teaching much more meaningful to her students.

“It’s a tremendous learning experience because a typical educator might get great exposure to methods associated with a teaching degree, but they don’t necessarily get the hands-on skills that are taught within jobs,” he said. “She’s got that tremendous resource.”

Pyle said she was surprised to win the award and considers herself blessed to be able to teach a subject she loved.

She especially has enjoyed the interaction with her students and likes the fact that they approach her when they see her at various community events.

Working in a school district she had seen only from the viewpoint of a parent has increased what she said already was a healthy regard for the district’s instructors.

“I always tried to be involved, but now that I’m teaching I’ve learned so much more,” Pyle said. “I had respect (for the teachers) before, but now I understand how hard they work.”