I am always intrigued by the articles and photos in the Harding magazine but the latest edition made me even more excited than usual. Why the additional joy? I was thrilled to see that our very own Cheri Smith made the front cover for a feature article entitled "Why I love to teach". In the article, nine Harding professors were interviewed and asked to describe just that - why they loved to teach. The professors were from multiple disciplines - Accounting, English, Bible, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Biology, Nursing, Communication and to our delight, Education.

In Cheri's interview, she recounts a heartwarming story of Calvin, a special needs student that she bonded with in her first year of teaching. After an unexpected visit from Calvin's mom at open house, Cheri said it was at that moment that she knew God had led her to this profession for a reason and she "never looked back".

When I asked Cheri how she felt about being on the cover of the Harding magazine, she blushed and chuckled a little (I know I wasn't the only one in the College of Ed who was making a big deal out of her being on the cover but Cheri, humble as ever, consistently downplayed her fame). She said that while surprised, she felt very honored to be interviewed. As a Harding alum, she said the best and most fun part of the whole thing was that people she hadn't seen since school started messaging her on Facebook, etc to say that they saw her on the front cover. She said it was neat to reconnect with old classmates and that the magazine article had sparked several conversations. Despite her attempts to downplay the event, we are very proud of Cheri for making the front cover and representing the College of Ed so well!

If you would like to read what happened with Calvin and his mom (and find out what the other professors had to say too!) check out the Fall 2011 Harding Magazine.

So now it's your turn. Why do YOU love to teach?