Hall of Fame bound: Red Gaffin will be inducted tonight
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The Teachers Hall of Fame was created to honor educators who have made “outstanding contributions to education and the lives of young people and the profession of teaching.” Since it was created in 1994, only 38 such individuals have been inducted.
Not one to seek the limelight, Gaffin, 93, said while appreciative of the award, he doesn’t think he deserves the honor.
“It’s a wonderful thing to be picked by the people I taught,” Gaffin said. “It’s nice that people thought enough of me to do this.” He added getting the award won’t go to his head.
The Hall of Fame is overseen by MTSU and its College of Education and Behavioral Science. Officials say they know of no other similar institution in the Southeast.
To be inducted, a retired or near-retirement classroom educator must first be nominated by someone who has attended school in Tennessee. Inductees are then selected from nominations, which usually total between 40-45 a year, by the state’s Board of Governors of Educational Leadership, a group of eight individuals representing the major education organizations in the state.
Board member and Dean of MTSU’s College of Education and Behavioral Science Dr. Gloria Bonner said this year’s class of inductees, which totals eight, is the largest ever. “This year we had an exceptionally strong pool of nominees of whom we were very impressed,” Bonner said. Normally only about four nominees are selected.
The push to have Gaffin inducted was started by Jimmie Webber, one of his former pupils at Viola School who is now a school principal in Putnam County. In addition to her own recommendation she also encouraged other former students of Gaffin’s to write letters of recommendation.
“He was such an influence on me and a good teacher for so many other people. If anyone deserves this award it’s him,” Webber said.
Gaffin’s career in education spanned 38 years, the last 22 of which were spent at Viola School where he was a teaching principal and coach. His wife, Mary Catherine, referred to him as a “working teacher,” because he did just about everything that needed to be done at the school – including getting there before the sun rose to fire up the furnace.
During his years at Viola he taught the seventh and eighth grades and was known especially for his instruction of the English language. Webber said in two years Gaffin taught her all the grammar she’s ever needed to know throughout the rest of her learning and teaching careers.
“And my experience wasn’t unusual,” said Webber. “When those of us from Viola went to the high school, our English and other teachers would ask us, after discovering how well prepared we were, ‘Mr. Gaffin was your teacher, wasn’t he?'”
At tonight’s ceremony, a video presentation will be shown about Gaffin and each his fellow inductees. Additionally, each of the inductees will receive a trophy and a portrait of each one will be displayed at MTSU.
Dr. Bonner encouraged all who attended school in the state to nominate former teachers for future induction into the Hall of Fame. “Each of us can name a teacher that had a significant impact on our life. These are the kinds of teachers we’re looking to acknowledge,” she said.