Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher
BY HEIDI VICKERS, CURRENT STUDENT
2 MIN. READ
LaNesha Tabb is a woman who wears many hats.
As a nationally renowned speaker and content creator, a published author of seven books, and nearly two decades of experience in the classroom, Tabb has a wealth of knowledge to share with not only teachers, but the public.
Education and valuable lessons
Tabb graduated from Anderson University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education. During this time, she discovered that she has a spiritual gift of teaching, but she didn’t always know that she wanted to be a teacher.
Tabb quickly learned that one of the biggest lessons she has learned in teaching is that a teacher’s job is never done and that her best effort has to be enough.
She describes teaching as layered and complicated while trying to serve her students well. A teacher is not able to clock in at work and check boxes before going home. Tabb stated, “There is one of you and 30 other children that all have different sets of needs with trauma or learning disabilities and you need to figure out how to be able to teach and connect with them. There’s no way to master the job and strain yourself to get everything done because it isn’t possible to get everything done.”
Once Tabb realized this, she was able to come into the classroom each day from seven in the morning to three in the afternoon and give every bit of herself for the hours she was there. When driving home at the end of the day, she does so without guilt because she knows that she gave everything that day.
In and out of the classroom
Tabb’s efforts in and out of the classroom have not gone unnoticed.
She has not only impacted people locally and inside her classroom, but she has also impacted schools and children around Indianapolis. This work led to her building up a social media presence and speaking at conferences and school districts across the country.
Tabb received the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from Anderson University in 2020 for the impact she had on so many lives while she was teaching.
When asked to speak, there are a few persistent topics that she finds herself very passionate about.
Noticing there is not a lot of current conversation, she passionately shares resources about literacy and writing instruction.
Another topic she shares pertains to the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom.
It is important for students to feel seen and represented in their school environment. Experiencing school without inclusion can often be disheartening if it isn’t incorporated into the classroom because it is valuable to show the importance of different people.
“(Teachers) should make sure that children can see that God has created tons of different kinds of people and cultures,” Tabbs said. “Their environment should reflect the world that God created so they can learn about those things.”
With the goal of being proactive in classroom diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), there are a few things that Tabbs said can be implemented into the classroom on a daily basis.
Intentionally including book choices that are from all over the world is one step to allow children to connect with, and have access to, different cultures.
Another way to incorporate DEI in the classroom is through history lessons. Using multiple resources that offer different perspectives can help students to get a fuller understanding of the history. There is not just one story or explanation for all the things that happened in history, and she believes that it would be good for everyone to consider all the narratives and then make decisions based on them.
Present day
After experiencing 18 years in the classroom, Tabb has now turned to working for herself full time.
She creates resources, content, courses, webinars and other service materials for educators. She has taken all the knowledge that she has learned over the years and turned it into a business to help other educators through accessible resources.
Even though Tabb is not an active teacher in the classroom, she plans to always be an educator at heart. Tabb strives to use her experience and knowledge to help other educators where she once was.
Tabb conforms to the idea of once a teacher, always a teacher.
Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.