What motivates educators to devote their lives to the process of teaching and learning?
How do they find the energy to climb out of bed each morning, fill their water bottles, pack their lunches and drive through the darkness to their schools? How would they describe their work? How do they truly come alive when students are present, not only physically but also mentally?
Let “A Teacher’s Shoes” walk through that door.
The documentary, a production of the NIU College of Education’s Morgridge Endowed Chair Office in partnership with the NIU Foundation, spends a day with each of three alumnae teaching in public schools.
Collectively, the trio has more than two decades of experience, ranging from two years by the most-recent graduate to 13 by the veteran of the group.
Grace DeSmedt, Ashley Manor and Dominique Yackley allowed university cameras to capture all of those moments as they interact with students and colleagues – and as they speak from the heart during off-camera interviews.
What’s revealed on the screen is not only their power to reach and shape the minds of their students but also the quality of their preparation in their College of Education degree programs, important information not only for parents and families but also for future teachers.
“In a time when once-respected professions are questioned, and teaching is too often misunderstood, ‘A Teacher’s Shoes’ returns the spotlight to where it rightfully belongs – to the teachers shaping the future,” says Todd Gilson, the associate dean of Research, Resources and Innovation who oversees Morgridge operations. “I am privileged to be part of this story.”
DeSmedt, Manor and Yackley will attend a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, screening of “A Teacher’s Shoes” and participate in a panel discussion. The free event will take place in the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, 231 N. Annie Glidden Road. All are invited.
- Please RSVP: While registration is not required, we encourage you to please RSVP so we can plan accordingly and acknowledge those attending.
Kristen Aragon and Kimberly Teal, the NIU graduate assistants currently managing the Morgridge office, are the brains behind the project.
Taking inspiration from “Why I Teach,” a 2024 documentary released by the Nashville Public Education Foundation, Aragon and Teal knew they wanted to emulate that earlier work’s start-to-finish glimpse of a teacher’s day.
Creative guidance and production oversight came from Angela Johansson, the NIU Foundation’s director of Marketing and Communications who helped Aragon and Teal focus their vision; outline their messaging and goals; plan and carry out the project; and secure resources.
“We really wanted to highlight not just what they do in the classroom from after the bell rings at 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock,” Aragon says, “but what their whole day looks like.”
For Teal, the undertaking made her “very appreciative of teachers” and its visual demonstration that “teachers have that ‘extra’ aspect.”
“Dominque, Ashley and Grace are diverse and representative of teachers in our community, and so we’re giving them the opportunity to speak on behalf of teachers and to let the community ask the questions they might have because, in reality, teachers are given our children eight hours a day,” Teal says.
“It’s important that we just understand where they’re coming from, why they’re teaching what they are and how understanding who they are as people also goes into how they’re teaching,” she adds, “so I’m really excited to show that to the community that there’s so much that goes into that.”
Meanwhile, she says, “the teachers wanted to show what they’re doing – and so did their students” while NIU Foundation multimedia production specialist Matthew McCanna-Molina and freelance videographer Jenna Stewart were on the scene.
“The teachers are so excited about this,” Teal says. “The videographers mentioned multiple times to us that they truly saw the students blossom while they were there, and the teacher said, ‘Wow, they’re the best-behaved they’ve ever been.’ ”
She hopes that viewers realize “that it can be harder now to be a teacher because you’re juggling so many aspects. We’re showing that they’re juggling it all, that they’re doing their best and that giving grace in every scenario is probably a good strategy.”
For the two graduate assistants, both of whom are speech-language pathology master’s students in the College of Health and Human Sciences, “A Teacher’s Shoes” was – well, a teacher itself.
“I think a lot about what we’re capable of,” Teal says.
“I like the idea that no idea is too big, and I think that Dr. Gilson has really made that the forefront of our job this year – if you are passionate about it, you can do it. That’s shown me to take that through my career,” she adds, “and that’s the most important part. If you see something that has a need, or you see someplace where a little extra effort could be put in, and you are there to do it, even the small things make a big difference.”
Aragon, who plans to focus her career on pediatrics and school-age children, the insight from the production is invaluable – not from just the hours and hours of video footage but from the collaborative process itself.
“It’s made me think about how I can work with others,” Aragon says.
“Right now, I’m lucky enough to be able to do one of my clinical rotations in a school, and I’m knowing what the teachers around me are doing on their off-time with lesson plans and grading,” she adds. “Every day, I’ll hear a teacher say, ‘I had a dream about this student last night – and here’s something that I should do that’ll benefit them.’ They’re coming up with these ideas when they’re not on school hours.”
Gilson is pleased with these outcomes.
“As I advance in my career, one thing becomes increasingly clear: Graduate students often have the best ideas. Unbound by pressures, expectations or limitations, they see problems and act with purpose,” Gilson says.
“Kristen and Kim might never lead another video project in their lives, but they will lead. They will advocate for others, tell important stories and collaborate toward common goals,” he adds, “and ‘A Teacher’s Shoes’ is a mechanism that cultivates all these skills. I am confident that everyone involved will carry forward the lessons learned into their professional lives.”
ABOUT THE TEACHERS
Grace DeSmedt, who earned her B.S.Ed. in Physical Education in 2023, is on the faculty of Oswego High School, where she teaches sophomore P.E. and freshman health.
The graduate of the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education also coaches dance at Oswego East.
She considers herself “passionate about helping students learn the importance of physical health and wellness and encouraging them to lead active, balanced lifestyles.”
While at NIU, DeSmedt was active in the KNPE Majors Board and presented at three state conferences. Named the KNPE SHAPE Major of the Year, which allowed her to attend the SHAPE National Convention in Seattle, she mentors current KNPE students.
Ashley Manor, who teaches geometry in the special education program at DeKalb High School, earned her B.S.Ed. in Special Education: Learning Behavior Specialist I in 2020.
Graduating from the Department of Special and Early Education at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – and immediately finding her professional purpose at DHS through work with her colleagues, administration and, most of all, students – Manor remains “passionate about creating inclusive, supportive learning environments that meet the diverse needs of her students.”
She has “a strong commitment to individualized instruction and student growth” and “strives to empower every learner to reach their fullest potential as students as well as individuals.”
Dominque Yackley earned her B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education in 2013 and her M.S.Ed. in Curriculum and Cultural Pedagogies in Social Justice in 2022.
The double-graduate of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction teaches fifth-grade at Founders Elementary School in DeKalb.
Passionate “about educating youth and advocating for a more culturally rich curriculum at all levels of teaching and learning,” Yackley was a 2023 finalist for the Chicago-area Golden Apple and a 2020 nominee for District 428’s Wirtz Award for Excellence in Education.
She has mentored NIU students, designed district curriculum, participated in writing the district’s Diversity Plan and started the first elementary school-level photography and social justice clubs.
