Teacher has loved the job since childhood

Growing up, Lisa Hughey loved playing school with her younger sister.

"I would be the teacher, and she was my student. I would try to teach her different things and grade papers. I always had to be the teacher," she said with a laugh. "Maybe that was a glimpse into my future."

Mrs. Hughey is a first-grade teacher at Gracewood Elementary School and the school's teacher of the year for 2008-09.

Education was always pushed in her family, she said. That and her interaction with her own teachers gave her the desire for a career in the classroom.

"I had a lot of great teachers who made me believe in myself and had high expectations of me," she said. "That really left an impression on me. Now I have high expectations of my students and of myself."

She uses different approaches, including hands-on activities and games, to reach her 20 pupils.

"I think the key is making the lesson engaging. The more engaging you can make it for the children, the more they get from it," she said. "Even if it takes more time for me to put it together, it's worth it if it's going to help them."

She also strives to be a better teacher than she was the year before, she said.

"Every year you realize what works, what doesn't work, and come up with ways to teach better," she said. "You grow and learn from the students as much as they learn from you."

Mrs. Hughey said she believes teaching is her calling and that's why, even as a child, she enjoyed being a teacher.

"Teaching, in my opinion, is the most rewarding job in the world," she said. "It brings new joys every day, and I wake up looking forward to what the day has in store."

Reach Nikasha Dicks at (706) 823-3336 or nikasha.dicks@augustachronicle.com.