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This is part of our Community Cultivator series, which highlights how innovators across all sectors build and sustain global communities from the ground up.

鈥淧eople keep apologizing to me,鈥� Tabatha Rosproy says with a nervous laugh. She knows what they mean, but she can鈥檛 help noticing the way apologies tend to accompany congratulations on her being named Teacher of the Year in 2020.

The annual honor, , certainly falls at a strange time, to say the least. Not only will many of the 150 or so speaking engagements that come with the distinction take place online due to the pandemic, but teachers have suddenly found themselves entangled in a national debate about how our country reopens. Her community is being thrust into a controversy it never invited.

鈥淭eaching is a harder job now than ever before,鈥� Rosproy acknowledges on a Zoom call with plenty of children鈥檚 art arrayed behind her. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 what teachers do鈥攚e take lemons and make lemonade.鈥� As the first preschool teacher bestowed with the honor, Rosproy has the added obligation of explaining that she is a real teacher and not just a babysitter.

Rosproy鈥檚 inclination to see the humor in situations at least partly explains her success as a teacher and makes her an ideal Teacher of the Year in our decidedly unfunny times. Growing up in south central Kansas, she says she was a 鈥渟ecret class clown who got away with a lot.鈥� The problem was, there was another class clown, and the two became rivals for a while, sizing each other up before realizing they could be even funnier as a duo鈥攁nd they remain best friends to this day.

Tabatha鈥檚 home life was loud, chaotic and full of frequent moves due to her father鈥檚 job. She originally went to Southwestern College on a theater scholarship and though she switched to education, she remained active in an improv theater troupe. 鈥淚n improv, you have to be ready to look at things in new ways,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou have to say, 鈥淵es, 补苍诲鈥�鈥�

Comedy and teaching aren鈥檛 all that different, she contends. You鈥檙e up in front of a bunch of people who will antagonize you or, worse, lose interest unless you stay in the moment and pay attention to their reactions. Taking yourself too seriously will put you in danger, and failing to prepare can be just as dangerous. Teachers and comedians both have to take feedback鈥攇ood and bad鈥攕eriously if they want to improve.

鈥淜ids know who鈥檚 invested and who鈥檚 not,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 not paying attention, my 6-year-old niece will literally take my head in her hands and turn my gaze toward her.鈥�

She remembers watching an experienced preschool teacher, Pat Walton, and how she worked the room. 鈥淚 think about Miss Pat all the time. It鈥檚 magic to see play in the classroom. Her love and humor came through in everything she did.鈥� That鈥檚 the spirit she hopes to impart during her time as Teacher of the Year.

Which isn鈥檛 to say her specialty is all fun and games. In every classroom, there鈥檚 at least one child who resists every discipline strategy and, if not won over, can destabilize the learning environment for everyone. Rosproy says she has gained tremendous insight from , a pioneer in social and emotional learning whose Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline, published in1996, explores seven skills for managing difficult relationships鈥攁nd not just with students:

• The Power of Perception: No one can make you angry without your permission.
• The Power of Attention: What you focus on, you get more of.
• The Power of Free Will: The only person you can make change is yourself.
• The Power of Unity: Focus on connecting instead of trying to be special.
• The Power of Love: See the best in one another.
• The Power of Acceptance: This moment is as it is.
• The Power of Intention: Conflict is an opportunity to teach.

Everybody comes to class with a story. The challenges that she and other teachers see in the classroom often have explanations. The pandemic has literally brought this lesson home, making it more apparent than ever that it matters how teachers interact with families.

鈥淚鈥檓 seeing more of their lives than ever before,鈥� she says of remote learning.

On top of overcoming the pandemic, the nation is facing a great many economic and social upheavals, and Rosproy believes that while good teaching is necessary to fix things, teachers shouldn鈥檛 bear the brunt of the responsibility. 鈥淓ducator voice at the federal level鈥� is a power she hopes to activate during her time as Teacher of the Year.

The community where she teaches, Winfield, Kansas, has lessons that she hopes the rest of the country is ready to learn. For example, Cowley County funds universal pre-K for all 4 -year-olds, for at least half a day. A dynamic Early Childhood Readiness Coalition advocates for more robust coverage. 鈥淐ommunity partnership is something we do well in Kansas,鈥� she says, adding, 鈥淧ublicly funded education means we have to show our work and be accountable.鈥�

The setting of Rosproy鈥檚 school, the Winfield Early Learning Center, should also inspire other communities. It is located in a senior center, Cumbernauld Village, where the residents, known as grandparents, greet the students every morning and regularly participate in class.

For the students, the added resource means more on-one-one reading time than they would normally enjoy. And the seniors who choose to participate benefit from the energy and affection of children. 鈥淚t reminds them of a time when they took care of their own children,鈥� says Rosproy.

They go fishing together. They sing songs. And yes, they play bingo.

The conjunction of young and old is not without its lighter moments. One resident repeatedly asked, 鈥淎re all these your kids?鈥� Others sometimes demonstrate the loosened inhibitions associated with dementia and use inappropriate language. Rosproy says seeing them acting out becomes a learning opportunity. The arrangement also exposes young people to disability and loss.

When a senior resident dies (鈥淚 don鈥檛 like the term passed away鈥�), Rosproy鈥檚 class holds a special circle time honoring their memories and makes a card for the family. 鈥淎t an early age, they learn how to cope and how to regulate big feelings,鈥� she says.

And then they go back to playing. It鈥檚 what teaching鈥攁nd improv鈥攁re all about. Saying: 鈥淵es and鈥�.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.