2 minute read
A love for learning
Diane Green is Voted Best Teacher
By Connor Shea
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Plain and simple, Idaho isn’t the easiest state to be a teacher.
Between ranking last in the country on per-student spending since 2018 and having a particularly hectic pandemic response, the State of Idaho doesn’t do its teachers any favors.
It’s safe to say teachers are now the ones being put to the test.
According to the results of the Best of Teton Valley, none have scored better in their response than Diane Green.
Green, an English teacher at Teton High School in Driggs, attributes her success to worrying not about the bad, but the good.
“Since the day I walked into my first classroom in Pocatello, my focus has just been on students and how I can prepare them, support them, and help them know that people care about them,” said Green.
She has been teaching for 20 years, and past classes include junior English, senior speech, AP language, AP literature, as well as dual-credit communications for
Diane Green
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ISU. She couldn’t pick a favorite class.
“Really I just love working with the students, and it would be extremely difficult for me to pick a favorite content to teach,” said Green.
Green found her vocation in her youth, growing up the youngest of four girls. Without television, the four would play school as little kids.
“School was something we played a lot as little kids, I also kept a school journal when I was in elementary school,” said Green. “Starting in kindergarten all the way through, the common denominator in terms of what I want to be when I grow up was always to be a teacher.”
With a laugh, Green mentioned that her second choices were rodeo queen and model.
“I grew up without a TV and had a very rich environment for exploration and learning and reading,” said Green.
A love of learning than did the rest for Green, as that’s still one of her many motivations.
“I’ve always loved learning and that’s one of the beautiful things about teaching… I’ve never stopped learning,” said Green.
Her other main motivation is, of course, the students.
“It’s always compassion and respect first, that’s how I treat my students and that’s how I expect them to treat each other and anyone else in the classroom,” said Green.
Prioritizing a positive learning environment is also of great importance to Green.
“My hope is that students feel connected and safe,” said Green. “My goal is just to create an environment where students will learn and then the rest just sort of falls into place.”
Teachers are some of the most humble individuals, being a core value of the profession, and Green is no exception.
“I wish I could just share that honor with so many educators who are equally deserving,” said Green. “Educators don’t get a lot of recognition for their work and it’s really affirming to know that people care about what we do. I would just thank this whole community. It’s just been incredible to live here, to work here, to get to know so many people through my job and I’m really deeply grateful for this place we call Teton Valley.” n
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