Iris Crankfield

I am an AACPS: Alum, Southern High School | Teacher, South River High School | Parent | Community Member | 2015 Teacher of the Year Finalist

There is nothing quite like Maryland pride. Most states honor their local cuisines, winning teams, and popular landmarks. We do that, too. But we add to that list our flag, it’s displayed on everything from our license plates to our socks; our beloved Orioles, who no matter their record are O-tastic, and pride in our counties. We are family built through our blood relationships, wiping the sweat of our neighbors’ brow, and sharing tears of comfort when tragedies of loss unite and humble us.

I share this innate pride. In fact, my pride as a Southern Bulldog gave me momentary pause when offered a teaching position with our arch rivals, the South River Seahawks. I even contemplated taking a job in another county, but in the end, my pride in AACPS kept me home.

Poet William Butler Yeats defined “Education [as] not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” My kindling was Joline Krolicki, Jan Booth, and Ruth Polger; they were the teachers from Southern High School who stoked my fire. Mrs. Polger, my 10th grade English teacher, was the flint who sparked my affair with the written word.  Mrs. Booth, my newspaper advisor, was the blaze who taught me that good writing glowed. Mrs. Krolicki, my 12th grade English teacher, was the candle who melted my love and flair for writing into a partnership with my responsibility as a reader: to find my story within the stories that we read and studied.

During the course of my journey, there was no single teacher who inspired me to achieve my greatness, it was a culmination of the dedication and pride many had in uncovering my hidden potential, illuminating the dark spots of my matriculation. In 7th grade, Mrs. MacBride taught me how all good short stories are rooted in suspense, much like puberty; in 11th grade Mrs. Redman taught me how truth was found in the lines, meter, and context of American poetry, much like the scolding of my grandmother; and, in 10th grade Driver’s Education class, Mr. Gardner taught me how to safely navigate the curvy, back roads of South County, while he hovered over the brake, much like a saint; as  an undergraduate student teacher who returned to my middle school alma mater, Southern Middle, Mr. Clark and Mr. Ferrelli, my 6th  and 7th grade Tech Ed teachers, welcomed me back by sharing motivational stories of how I, a former seamstress of pillows and builder of bridges in their classroom, was now an aspiring, promising educator.

Author Georges Bernanos said, “It’s a fine thing to rise above pride, but you must have pride in order to do so.” He’s right.  I’ve risen above thinking I achieved greatness on my own and I’ve embraced the responsibility to ignite and stoke in my students the fire that was started inside of me.