Her Story
Edna Rogers taught for 33 years, beginning in 1962 with seventh grade social studies at Dixie County High School and then second and fifth grades at Sevierville Elementary (1963–1967). From 1971 to 1977 she taught Head Start in Sevier County, where she found her mission in “working with families to help them understand how important parental involvement is in developing the child’s education.” In 1978 she began teaching kindergarten at Sevierville Primary School, where she stayed until her retirement in 2000. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Rogers calls teaching “The Fine Art of learning” and describes a teacher as “the motivator who ignites a passion of fire into a student that burns with excitement.” Her classroom was a bright, cheerful place with a rug, rocking chairs, live plants, blocks, art supplies and walls filled with children’s work. Her guiding verse was Proverbs 15:2: “A wise teacher makes learning a joy.” When Tennessee mandated “Basic Skills First,” then-governor Lamar Alexander recalls, she turned the skills into games and activities that other teachers at her school adopted. She also made take-home bags so parents could teach the skills, won a grant she shared with her colleagues, and co-created a three-week summer program for children who had not scored well on the Pre-K screening, a program she was invited to share across the state.
She was named Sevier County Teacher of the Year (1988 and 1989), East Tennessee District Teacher of the Year (1989) and Tennessee Teacher of the Year (1989). Her other honors include the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics (1990), the Governor’s Outstanding Tennessean Award (1989), the NCTE Literacy Award (1998), and the Key to the City of Sevierville (1989). The city declared an “Edna Rogers Day” in 2001.
Beyond the Classroom
Since 1989 Rogers has served on the board of the Dollywood Foundation, helping develop Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which began in 1996 by mailing a new book each month to every child under five in Sevier County and now reaches children in more than 550 communities. She sits on its book selection committee and its national literacy committee, and she directs the Chasing Rainbows Award that honors new state Teachers of the Year. She has spoken about the program across the country and in Guam, South Africa and Germany, including to the Wyoming governor and first lady and to the Washington State superintendent.
She is a past president of both the Tennessee Teachers of the Year and the National State Teachers of the Year, president of the Sevier County Retired Teachers Association, a Tennessee Human Rights Commissioner for more than nine years, and a member of the boards of the Sevier County Educational Foundation and the Berkshire Education Scholarship Foundation. She also teaches a Sunday school class and leads her church’s seniors.
Her classroom was involved in community service from Adopt-A-School to Reading Is Fundamental, adopting patients at a nursing home and children’s hospital, and corresponding with children in Africa after she visited schools there during a U.S.–South African education conference. A local television station featured the project, and her school adopted it as its own.
Philosophy Into Practice
Rogers wants each child to feel “a sense of belonging” and to feel “safe and secure.” Her goal is to teach honesty, trust, responsiveness, responsibility and sensitivity, and to avoid embarrassing any student. She reaches each child through discovery and the five senses, and uses a Chinese proverb: “I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.”
She evaluates her own teaching by her students’ results. If several children miss the same question, she says, “I feel I am at fault” and changes her approach. She assesses children at the beginning, middle and end of the year, and meets with parents or caregivers two or three times a year so that “the student, the parent or caregiver, and the teacher” work as a team.
“A wise teacher makes learning a joy.”— Edna Rogers, quoting Proverbs 15:2
“The most productive relationship between teachers and students is built upon trust.”— Edna Rogers
In Her Own Words
“The art of teaching can be defined as The Fine Art of learning!”— Edna Rogers
“I believe there is a desire to grow and a desire to learn in every young child and it is up to me to cultivate these young seeds.”— Edna Rogers
“Each day in the classroom is a new beginning with new opportunities.”— Edna Rogers
“What a crime to pass up any opportunity to put a spark of creativity into the minds of a young child.”— Edna Rogers
“By teaching respect a student can grow up to become a good citizen.”— Edna Rogers
“I use my students’ scores as a means of evaluating my teaching skills.”— Edna Rogers
What Others Said
“From touching young lives daily to contributing to national boards of directors, Edna has mastered it all.”— John Snyder, nominator and colleague
“Of the many people I have gotten to know during my years of public service, she stands out as a lifelong advocate for children’s education.”— Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senator, former governor and U.S. Secretary of Education
“Edna loves children as much as I do and that love will never stop.”— Dolly Parton, founder, Dollywood Foundation
“Mrs. Rogers’ gentle touch and kind smile encouraged youngsters to learn and grow to their greatest potential.”— Jack A. Parton, Ed.D., Director of Schools, Sevier County
“I am a better teacher today for having had the privilege of teaching with and learning from such an outstanding teacher for 25 years.”— Gail Haggard, former colleague and parent of a former student
“She is the epitome of love — she shared that quality with all.”— Andrea C. Roe, former principal