Living the dream: Williams to begin 55th year as an educator in the fall

Mar. 8—Katie Williams, math and science teacher at Trinity High School, has been teaching for 54 years, with 52 of those at the school, and it's the fulfillment of a dream she had as a child.

"When I was between 7 and 12, I just wanted to be a teacher," she said.

Williams said Trinity is a home for her.

"This is a community, and everybody in the community pitches in and helps people," she said. "You don't have to go through a troubled time on your own because somebody is going to help."

Williams graduated from Brescia University in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in math and science.

Following her graduation from Brescia, Williams began teaching at Trinity, where she stayed until 1978. She also worked on receiving her master's degree in secondary education and mathematics from Western Kentucky University during that time as well.

After leaving Trinity, she began teaching at Daviess County High School.

"We had this big population shift from Daviess County High School over to Apollo High School," Williams said. "They shifted me over to Apollo at that time."

The reason Williams said she left Trinity to teach in Daviess County Public Schools was because she was tired of "politics."

"There were all kinds of politics within the schools, but I found out those politics exist, it's just a fact of life," she said.

Williams said after teaching in a public school district, she realized that private schools aren't much different.

"Kids are kids," she said. "There's politics and everything, but the kids are just basically kids."

Despite being a teacher, Williams said she continues to learn more from her students every year.

"As you teach, you get smarter," she said. "I probably learn more from these kids every year than they learn from me."

Williams is proud of the work her students put in.

"They're so smart, they really do learn their math," she said. "They can probably tutor college students in their math."

Williams said she wishes more people would believe in teenagers.

"There are some teenagers that have a good work ethic, there are some teenagers that have a heart to volunteer," she said. "I want people to quit thinking that teenager is a dirty word."

But in her five decades as an educator, Williams has seen the world of teaching change, and she said if she had the power, she'd change some of the state laws.

"Some of the books put on the approved list are more concerned with being 'lawyer talk' with five-syllable words instead of teaching the kid the concept," she said.

Another thing Williams said she'd change is seventh- and eighth-grade students receiving Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry credits before entering high school.

"I can see students from the eighth grade come to my ninth-grade class with a credit in Algebra I, and I begin teaching Algebra II and they can't grasp it," she said. "They did learn Algebra I, but they did not comprehend it down deep."

As Williams has surpassed her 50th year in teaching, she said when she retires will be dependent on her health, but there is a plan for when that day comes.

"I have a son who majored in math and went into human resources, and when he had to lay off 250 friends, he said he wouldn't do it anymore," she said. "He said he would like to teach, but not as a teacher, he wants to help kids that need help."

Williams said she has considered setting up a building for students to go to after school to receive tutoring.

"I would want to hire high school students that are good tutors to help others with their homework," she said.

Williams will begin her 55th year as an educator in the fall.