Tony Shao, Tunkhannock
Mrs. Wisnosky: A Second Mother
Society’s expectations of a so-called “great teacher” nowadays is reflected upon the standardized test scores the students receive – low scores signify a bad teacher and high scores signify a great one. In today’s society, teachers are too preoccupied with the test scores that the real value of education is lost in all of the numbers and evaluations. Mrs. Wisnosky, however, takes a different approach when it comes to education: she obtains the scores like most teachers; then, she teaches more.
Mrs. Wisnosky is not one of those teachers who sits behind their desk and lectures their class through monotonous presentations; she fully engages and interacts with the student in order for the material to sink in. She utilizes her position as an English teacher to immerse her students in a world of literature, opening the students’ minds to new extents academically and culturally. Since I’ve met Mrs. Wisnosky, she’s always known that I was majoring in some kind of business field, and being the motherly figure that she is, she subscribed me to Entrepreneur magazines and forwards any emails with opportunities that can spark my business career.
Having her two years ago as a sophomore, I distinctly remember one of the assignments that we had to complete – create an organization that benefits the community. My friends and I formed The Empathy Project, an organization trying to create an atmosphere of peace and equality among people, animals, and the earth by moving forward with empathy. The amount of rude comments and remarks we received were overpowered by the endless support and motivation Mrs. Wisnosky provided us. Being one of the few supporters, she organized an open mic night for us to sponsor in order to get our message out there and made a generous donation for our startup costs. She was the reason for the success of The Empathy Project, and seeing her show so much faith in her students has made her an even greater teacher.
Not only has Mrs. Wisnosky opened a multitude of opportunities for me, but she has also done so in the community as well. She’s always finding a new way to pay it forward, and one of the most significant ones was the creation of the Breaking Ground Poets. Tunkhannock has never offered anything of that nature, so Mrs. Wisnosky gathered a group of young poets in order to use their voices to show the art of poetry. She’s led them to multiple competitions, and having the opportunity to witness the impact she’s had on Tunkhannock and her students is just remarkable.
It is unheard of for a teacher to be have so much faith and involvement in a student’s life, and I only feel that it is fair that Mrs. Wisnosky is finally recognized for her dedication to her job. As Langston Hughes once wrote, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” but the guidance of a great teacher makes the climb a bit easier.