His Story
Ben Talley became a teacher at 32, after careers as a professional golfer and a businessman. A boy he mentored as a Big Brother told him, “You love kids so much. You ought to teach elementary school.” He earned his master’s in teaching at East Tennessee State University and has taught science to about 125 fourth and fifth graders a year at Van Pelt Elementary in Bristol, in one of Virginia’s highest-poverty school districts, in the heart of Appalachia.
His classroom is one of “science objects everywhere,” with nature tables holding a sperm whale tooth, a hornet’s nest, a deer skull, a lump of coal and Spanish moss. Children may be “wrong” in their answers as long as they can defend them with the scientific method. He teaches with experiments nearly every day, oral storytelling and discovery hikes on the school’s wooded acres, where students, parents and he have built more than ten miles of trails with signs for public use.
His students have scored among the highest in Virginia on the state Standards of Learning tests, and most of his special needs students pass too. If a student does not reach 80 percent mastery, he says, “I consider myself at fault, not the student.” Tests can be retaken, and a perfect score may earn a lunch with him or a chance to run outside and hug a tree while the class applauds. When a child leaves his class he writes a several-page narrative about the child for the family.
Beyond the Classroom
Talley has taught adult education at the Bristol jail for 24 years, and 311 men have earned their GED diplomas. He asks the inmates to promise to read to their children for at least 15 minutes a night after release, and he visits their homes to bring the whole family into the habit.
Eight Saturdays a year he leads “Super Saturday” nature hikes for fourth and fifth graders from all of Bristol’s elementary schools and their families, and local high school students earn community service hours helping. He has given away more than 11,000 tree seedlings to every pre-school through fifth-grade student in the city, funded by books and T-shirts he wrote and sold, with none of the profit going to him. Each year at Christmas he dresses as Santa and delivers food, toys, books and clothing to around 100 families.
Philosophy Into Practice
Talley says the biggest issue in education is how to reach children in poverty, and he lived in voluntary poverty himself for several years of his career “to have a truer understanding of the plight which my students and their families face daily.” At the end of each year he gives every student a penny, and at their high school graduation he returns a $10 bill. Often he is backstage handing out several hundred dollars, and 95 to 97 percent of his students finish high school.
He also takes the poorest students on outings, to meals and on hikes as an informal Big Brother, as long as they are making honor roll and staying out of trouble. He believes his best relationship with a student is one where “the student’s whole family” buys in to the value of owning a good education, and he treats the myth of the “ignorant hillbilly” as one his students can dispel.
“Failure is NOT an option in my classroom.”Ben Talley
In His Own Words
“I always strive to find a way for each child, regardless of their individual special needs or social influences, to learn and succeed.”Ben Talley
“Children are “insatiable sponges” for learning, if they are allowed to be “fully engaged” and “largely self directed” in their learning.”Ben Talley
“I provide a heck of a lot of “meaningful fun” for my students.”Ben Talley
What Others Said
“Few, if any, have affected so many students, in such a profound way, in such a remote area of poverty.”David Talley, nominator, former student and son
“In closing, I have never seen a better candidate in the field of education for Hall of Fame distinction.”Rex Gearheart, Superintendent, Bristol Virginia Public Schools
“Mr. Talley is a once in a lifetime teacher who has the innate ability to inspire children.”Mark Y. Lineburg, Ed.D., former superintendent, Winchester Public Schools
“Through Mr. Talley, they learn that life is not about being the smartest, the wealthiest, or the most popular.”Christopher McElraft, fourth grade teacher, Bristol Virginia Public Schools
“Mr. Talley helped me see that I could be somebody.”Marcus Stine, former student
“I’ve seen no one quite like Mr. Ben Talley.”Linda Stout, teacher, Van Pelt Elementary School