Stevenson Middle School teacher Teela Murphy 'encourages students to be inquisitive, use their voice, take challenges head-on'

As the daughter of a military family, Teela Murphy changed schools often, giving her a unique perspective on education.

"I was blessed to encounter some amazing teachers who made school exciting and comforting  for me," Murphy told Houston Daily. She teaches an elective humanities course called Multiculturalism in Society at Stevenson Middle School. "I wanted to pay it forward and be that educator for other students."

Her biggest surprise about teaching is that students respect honesty.

"If I’m wrong, I apologize and acknowledge my error," she said. "This usually catches students off-guard, but they grow to see it’s okay to be wrong and I encourage them to take ownership of that."

Although she is not a big fan of standardized testing, she realizes it is a necessity. Murphy tells the story of one of her eighth-grade students.

"He had never passed STAAR Reading," she said. STAAR tests measure the progress of students from 3rd grade to 8th grade, as well as high school. "Eighth grade year, he made it his mission to pass the first administering of the exam. He worked and put forth extra effort all year; it was not easy. He was a star athlete who traveled to play sports all over the country at times. So there were times when he would miss class, but he'd work on the assignments I’d give him."

The results of the exam came back in April 2019.

"He and his best friend came to me after school and asked for their results," Murphy said. "We were all nervous. I know they both worked very hard and were determined to pass the first time. I read the results, and they both passed! Until that moment, I never imagined I would be the teacher who cried tears of joy over a test. All three of us stood in the room and cried tears of joy, relief and pride in their hard work."

The teacher's role is to "to encourage students to be inquisitive, use their voice, take challenges head-on and motivate students to work toward their goals/objectives," Murphy said.

Data is the most effective way to track a student's progress, the teacher explained. "If there is a dip, we investigate why. If there is an   increase, we still investigate what aided in the growth."

Stevenson is a school that works hard to help various types of learners, Murphy said.

"We recognize the need for inclusion and diversity because all students are different," she said. "Stevenson has a lot of programs that aid in academic growth and social development. We have extracurricular organizations that give students access to mentors outside of the classroom. This also helps motivate students to maintain good academic standing."

Stevenson offers courses and organizations geared toward STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and the arts.

"Our campus is continuously growing and exploring new ways to encourage engagement and explore student  interest," Murphy said.