[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/education-students-find-family-missional-purpose\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/education-students-find-family-missional-purpose\/","headline":"Education Students Find Family, Missional Purpose","name":"Education Students Find Family, Missional Purpose","description":"Hannah Tolbert Faulkner senior Hannah Tolbert burst into the education lab in the College of Education\u2019s Johnson Hall in tears. About to graduate with a degree in elementary education, Tolbert was facing an enormous challenge to grasp and pass her…","datePublished":"2023-07-12","dateModified":"2023-07-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Hannah-Tolbert-copy.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Hannah-Tolbert-copy.jpg","height":1354,"width":1317},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/education-students-find-family-missional-purpose\/","about":["Alumni","Current Students","News","Undergraduate"],"wordCount":1129,"articleBody":"Hannah TolbertFaulkner senior Hannah Tolbert burst into the education lab in the College of Education\u2019s Johnson Hall in tears. About to graduate with a degree in elementary education, Tolbert was facing an enormous challenge to grasp and pass her pre-calculus class. Without a passing grade, she\u2019d miss her May graduation and her hopes and dreams of becoming a 5th grade teacher. \u201cI walked into the lab upset and Dr. Sandy Ledwell was right there to comfort me, and told me to come into her office and we just talked about it,\u201d Tolbert said. \u201cFrom that day forward, Dr. Ledwell has been tutoring me, and I\u2019ll be set to graduate this May. Despite all the hurdles and responsibilities she has as the brand-new dean of the College of Education, she still made time to pour into me. That\u2019s what everyone who works in the College of Education at Faulkner does. They are the kind of teacher I want to be. A teacher who is willing to do whatever it takes to help their students.\u201d\u00a0\u201cWhen you first start down the path of education, the methods and vocabulary seem overwhelming, but the beautiful thing about being at Faulkner is the teachers here tell you how to use those and how to apply them so when you go into a classroom it becomes second nature,\u201d she added.Just as the women of the College of Education, Ledwell, Rebecca Horn, Sandy Luster, Carol Tarpley, and Tiffany Till view their teaching roles as a vocational ministry, so do the students and the alumni of the education department view the teaching profession. \u201cThe classroom is one of the biggest mission fields,\u201d Tolbert said. \u201cYou as the teacher are responsible for the future of your students. You are with your students for nearly eight hours of the day and the way you carry yourself, the respect you give to your students, the ways you encourage them and the way you give them confidence to persevere in their studies, should all point toward Christ. You\u2019re showing them through your actions, through kindness and love what it means to be a Christian.\u201dIt is the same example of caring teachers and tutors that first inspired Tolbert to follow a career involving children. In high school, Tolbert struggled in math and English and so her teachers and tutors at New Life Christian Academy in Millbrook, Alabama gave her one-on-one instruction until she grasped the subject matter. Tolbert realized how important it was to make sure no student was left behind.\u00a0Tolbert came to Faulkner as a legal studies major in order to become a child advocate, but she quickly discovered her heart was in the classroom- just like her mother\u2019s, Cindy Tolbert, who works as the Faulkner PreK coordinator. \u201cI knew my heart couldn\u2019t handle the tough situations many children suffer with, but I knew I still wanted to help children. My mom suggested teaching, and it was a natural fit,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing in the classroom is so rewarding,\u201d said Tolbert, who has helped teach in three local elementary schools as part of her coursework. \u201cAs a teacher, you may be the only smile your students see that day, or the only sense of safety they experience that day. As a teacher, you have stepped into the role of caretaker just as Christ cares for us, and it\u2019s a position that I will be honored to fill.\u201d For 2004 Faulkner Education graduate, Taryn Brodie, her classroom is indeed her mission field and it\u2019s her goal to instill in them positive character traits in addition to teaching them educational standards.l-r, Taryn Brodie poses with her daughter Keeghan, husband Chris and son Cutter.\u201cAt Faulkner, it was more of the experiences I had which molded me into the teacher that I am. There, I discovered true character, perseverance, and a love for learning that carried over into my classroom,\u201d Brodie said. \u201cEvery student who has walked through my classroom door has become a member of Brodie\u2019s Best, ones who in turn will go share that with the world. My professors at Faulkner worked to prepare me for this in addition to everything else I needed to learn to enter this demanding but amazing field. I am blessed to have started my career at Faulkner University.\u201dBrodie, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, graduated from Faulkner magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and recently completed her Master of Education degree from Faulkner in September 2022. She now teaches second graders at Wetumpka Elementary School in the classroom across the hall from where she interned.\u201cI absolutely love what I do. Second grade is where they gain their independence and spread their wings, but they still love you and are excited to come to school each day,\u201d Brodie said. \u201cI love to see their growth and am amazed at what we are able to accomplish in my classroom each year.\u201dWell known in the River Region and the state for his empathy and professionalism within the education system, Faulkner alumnus Jeff Langham is a man of principle, values and faith.Currently serving as the Chief of Staff and Assistant State Superintendent for the Alabama State Department of Education, his 38-year tenure in education began when he enrolled at Alabama Christian College, now known as Faulkner University. Langham, a Bay Minette, Alabama native, attended the college from 1976 to 1978.It was the mentors he gained at Faulkner, who helped him strengthen his faith and transition to the workplace.\u201cFrom daily chapel to daily encounters with Godly mentors, my experiences at Faulkner have been enormously influential in my faith journey,\u201d Langham said. \u201cSo many \u2018giants of the faith\u2019 whose legacies are still rich and alive here at Faulkner, served as role models for me in my most critical junctures in my life beyond high school and before my transition into the workplace.\u201dAs a student, he was involved in every aspect of campus life. Later, he completed his master\u2019s degree at Auburn Montgomery and his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, Policy and Law from Alabama State University.\u201cMy experiences at Faulkner, formerly Alabama Christian College, from 1976-1978 were a true joy!\u201d Langham said. \u201cDuring my time there, I benefited tremendously from the guidance of excellent teachers, wise mentors, treasured friends, many of whom are still dear friends to this day, and spiritual grounding that has kept me on course all these decades later.\u201d\u201cFaulkner set the foundations of my career as it was here that I decided to pursue a degree in English Education,\u201d he said. \u201cMy degree from Faulkner set me on the right track that still impacts my daily career adventures.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Education Students Find Family, Missional Purpose","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/education-students-find-family-missional-purpose\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]