Sandra Walker is a high school and middle school teacher at Davenport Public Schools. She grew up in Topeka, Kansas in a rural setting. She attended Kansas State University for two years. She moved to Oklahoma and attended Southwestern for a year, and then transferred to Southeastern where she graduated in 1978.
This is Sandra’s 37th year as a teacher. She currently teaches three classes of art history, 8th grade English, English II, English IV and Speech/Drama. Over the course of her career she has sponsored 7th-12th classes multiple times, cheer, student council, gifted and talented, and a decade of dinner theaters.
Q What led you to teaching?
A I have always wanted to teach. When I was small I would pretend teach and grade papers. My pets were my students, thus a captive audience. I also helped pay my way through college by teaching horsemanship to children.
Q Did you have any mentors who influenced your decision to become an educator?
A My mentors were Pauline McCracken and Lowell Wallace. They both inspired my love for education.
Q What motivates you the most to teach?
A My motivation is my students. There is nothing more rewarding than to see the lightbulb come on in a student's eyes, to see their success stories and watch them grow into productive adults.
Q What are you most excited about?
A I am most excited about my students. The relationships that are forged last a lifetime. I think i learn as much from them as they do me.
Q What do you find the most challeging as a teacher?
A The challenges are always there. The one I think is the biggest is getting students to believe in themselves and that anything is possible with determination and hard work.
Q What is the best thing that has happened since you began teaching?
A The best thing to happen to me is the relationships I have formed with my fellow teachers and students. It's like having a second family.
Q What might students and parents be surprised to know about you?
A I don't think there are any surprises with me. I am pretty much an open book.
Q What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
A If I wasn't a teacher I would probably go for Archeologist. I love digging up history.
Q What are three things every teacher should have?
A A strong will because you will be tested. A loving heart because you never know what is going on with students. You CAN make a difference in someone's life. Good listening skills. You will need to listen to your students. I have learned many things about children in general by listening and they need to realize they are important to you.
Sandra and Wayne have been together 43 years. They have three children, Justin, Jodie and Jessie. All three of their kids graduated from DHS. They have nine grandchildren ranging in age from one to 19. Two sets live in the Tulsa area and one set lives in Norman.
When asked how she spends her free time, Sandra responded, “I spend my time between all of them going to baseball, football, flag football and softball games and babysitting when needed and dogsitting (did I mention I have three granddogs?). Family is everything to me. The holidays are huge at my house.
I love family dinners and getting everyone together. When the kids were younger, actually I should say when Wayne and I were younger we traveled and rodeoed a lot. We took the children everywhere we went. Some of our best family memories are from those travels and it made all of us who we are. As I reflect back, I realize that I have spent most of my adult life in this classroom in this school. I have no regrets. Bulldog forever!”
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