| Sources |
- [S80] Rawlings Funeral Home, (http://www.rawlingsfuneralhome.com/), 4 Dec 2005.
Nellie Ruth Trotter Burns obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 16 Feb 2007.
Rawlings takes title of queen very seriously
By: J.J. KINDRED, Staff Writer
February 16, 2007
PIGEON FORGE - Helen Rawlings' second-grade students at Pigeon Forge Primary School call her The Queen.
"I kid my kids at the beginning of year," she said. "I say 'OK, boys and girls, Mrs. Rawlings is the queen and you should treat her that way.' I have a crown that I wear sometimes."
The name is fitting, because her peers have crowned her Teacher of the Year for Primary Schools in Sevier County.
"The students have been great," Rawlings said. "They just screamed when I got Teacher of the Year for Pigeon Forge Primary. When I got the county, they were just amazed. They said, 'Mrs. Rawlings, you are the queen.'"
A 28-year teaching veteran, all in the Pigeon Forge area, Rawlings was honored in 2003 as The Mountain Press Teacher of the Year.
"I was very shocked but very pleased," she said on winning this year's award. "I was very honored because there are so many great teachers in Sevier County.
"I come from a long line of teachers," Rawlings said. "I had three aunts that were teachers. I always enjoyed being with kids and teaching them new things. I truly love to teach reading - it's my forte. I think it's very important for kids to learn to read and to read well. If they can learn to read well, they can do anything in life they want to."
Nancye Williams, the school's principal, praised Rawlings for her teaching passion.
"Mrs. Rawlings is an outstanding teacher who really cares about kids," Williams said. "Her students are her first priority, and she's willing to do anything it takes to insure they have a wonderful education here at Pigeon Forge Primary."
Rawlings graduated from the University of Tennessee with her undergraduate and master's degrees before receiving an Ed.S from Lincoln Memorial University.
Aside from a three-month stint at Sevierville Primary School in her teaching debut, she has spent her entire career at Pigeon Forge Primary, when the school was under different names.
"I taught at Pigeon Forge Elementary on Pine Mountain Road. We call that the old, old school," Rawlings said. "I was at Pigeon Forge Primary where the middle school is now - we call that the old school - and this is the new school. There are a few of us that have been at all three schools together."
She said her loyalty runs deep.
"I just got into this group of teachers and we're just like a family," Rawlings said. "We all just love each other and take care of each other. I'm an only child and I have teachers here that are like my sisters. I grew up in Wears Valley and I live on Waldens Creek, so it's very convenient for me. It's like five minutes to school in the morning."
Most of Rawlings' 28 years have been spent teaching kindergarten, but she decided to make the switch to second grade because "I reached a point in my life where I needed to interact with older kids. Second-graders are just as enthusiastic about learning and they can do a lot more than kindergarten kids can.
"I truly love every kid that I teach," Rawlings said. "I always find something special about them to love. I think that's the most important thing about being a teacher. If a child doesn't like you, they're not going to learn anything from you. If the kids truly love you, they will do anything you ask them to."
Rawlings and her husband of close to 30 years, Mark, have an adult daughter, who is expecting her first child this year.
* jkindred@themountainpress.com
- [S86] McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home, (http://www.mccammonammonsclick.com/), 31 Dec 2011.
Michael Lynn Rawlings obituary
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1956 - (~ 68 years)
, d. Bef 4 Dec 2005 (Age ~ 81 years)