Hattiesburg, Miss - CC’s standing O applauds individuals who have the courage to inspire without the glares of the camera.
Chinika.com (CC) salutes Patricia Watkins. For 19 years, Patricia has worked to educate the children of Magnolia Elementary, located in Magnolia, Miss. After realizing that many of her students, especially those in disadvantaged homes, struggled in class because their parents faced educational difficulties themselves, Patricia began to offer private tutorials at her home.
“When I realized that homework was being done incorrectly, and students were saying that their parents helped them, I knew we had a problem,” Patricia said. She said she learned that some of the children either had young parents who dropped out of school or parents who were illiterate. To salvage her students’ future, Patricia convinced her husband, mother, nieces and any other family members she could muster up to offer free tutorial services to children who were falling behind in class. “For eight years, we would have popcorn, homemade brownies, hot dogs, pizza and other snacks as we studied,” she said. “I just wanted to give back to the community the great fortunes I had received.” Patricia said the tutoring sessions were later moved to New Zion Missionary Baptist Church where the Women’s Missionary Society joined in the mission. She said their efforts produced countless success stories, but her most memorable one involves a child who couldn’t read upon entry into the second grade. “Travis was in special education, and other students would laugh and make fun of him. But I would stick up for him and tell them that he would one day make higher grades than some of them,” she said. “Not knowing that Travis was actually buying into this, I continued to pump him up. At the end of the year, he passed, reading up to 95-102 words per minute. He also scored high ratings on the Mississippi Curriculum Test. You should see him now. He walks with authority and actually views himself as somebody now. He has gone from a special education class to a regular class setting, passing with nothing less than a C.” Patricia thanks Travis’ mother for believing in her son’s potential. She said it was her mom who inspired her to be the best she could be academically. As a substitute teacher, Patricia recognized that she had the ability to make a difference in a child’s life. After she was promoted to a teacher’s assistant, she returned to college to acquire the tools needed to reach children on a larger scale. Patricia said she was “challenged and encouraged” to go back to school later in life and become successful just as her mother had done. She was 27 years old at the time. By age 30, Patricia spearheaded a class of her own. She is now a member of the school’s administration. Her determination to see her students shine also landed her an unsuspecting award in 2007 from chinika.com that read “Your Success is My Success.” The plaque was presented to her and fellow teachers, Roosevelt Tolbert and Katie Jenkins , during a motivational seminar by Richard L. Scott. Richard credited Patricia for helping him to realize his self-worth.
“As he began to share how he wanted to thank several people for his success, knowing that I had never taught him, I thought there was no way he could be speaking of me,” recalled Patricia. “When he called my name, I was greatly surprised. My feet were very heavy as I headed to accept the award. That moment, inspired me to continue to be an example for everyone, because you never know who is watching you.” To chinika.com readers: If you want to nominate an individual for CC’s Standing O, send an e-mail to
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telling us why your nominee deserves recognition.
This interview obtained by chinika.com may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Chinika, LLC.
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