Educator of the Week: Gretta Massey

It’s time now to recognize this week’s Educator of the Week presented by the Tennessee Education Lottery.

Gretta Massey teaches English and literature to 10th through 12th graders at Lexington High School. She says she has been teaching for 16 years, all at Lexington.

However, she says the 16 years have not felt like a long time.

“But it doesn’t seem that way because I never dread coming to my job. I love my job,” Massey said.

Massey says she thinks about her former teachers for inspiration to be the teacher that she wants to be for her students.

“When I started teaching I started thinking about the teachers that not only taught me, but that I still think about, that I still, when I make decisions, that had an impact on who I was as a person,” Massey said.

Massey shared what she wants her students to get out of her classes.

“To figure out who they are, and to find their purpose, and to like themselves every day when they wake up,” Massey said.

One unique thing that Massey does in her class is journal writing. She encourages the students to write about anything that they are feeling.

“And I try to get on a personal level. I can always tell when my kids are having a bad day, but they come to me. And I think that having the relationship of where they don’t have to filter what they say, or they can tell me anything, and I let them have that open platform here, and I let them be themselves,” Massey said.

Massey says that every personality is different and that every personality makes the classroom come together.

Massey is now eligible for the Tennessee Education Lottery Educator of the Month award. 

To vote for her or any other nominees, go to the Tennessee Education Lottery website.

To nominate an educator for our Educator of the Week award, email us at [email protected].