Oberlin welcomes home 2022 National Teacher of the Year Kurt Russell

OBERLIN — Kurt Russell almost missed out on becoming 2022 National Teacher of the Year because he didn't want to fill out an online application. Russell, an Oberlin High School teacher, recounted the whirlwind year he had since receiving the accolade before he returns to the classroom this fall during a "Welcome Home" event Thursday evening. It all started when he received an email congratulating him on his nomination for Ohio Teacher of the Year in January 2021. Initially, he thought it was spam, he said, and then he resisted filling out the lengthy online application in the midst of teaching online and other obligations. But several essays, a resume and a short biography later, after he was reminded "If someone nominated you, have the obligation to fill it out," his application was on its way. First came his award of Ohio District 2 Teacher of the Year; then he received the statewide accolade that June. When he first accepted the 2022 statewide award, he said the Ohio Department of Education said he needed to be more active on social media, so he tweeted: "I'm proud to be the first black male teacher of the year (in Ohio)," he said. And the first comment it received questioned why it had to be about race. That question is something he received several times during his tenure as National Teacher of the Year, which saw him testify to the Senate, give interviews on CBS, NBC and PBS, and attend President Joe Biden's first State Dinner. During his address to the nation, Russell's remarks highlighted the value of representation and diversity, nothing teachers are the backbone of democracy. When he received his National Teacher of the Year title, he joined three other Black men in the ranks since 1954, he said, later on in the evening noting the importance of representation in his own career trajectory. As a kindergartner in the late 1970s, he said he didn't remember everything his teacher taught him, but he remembered when he read the class a book about Martin Luther King Jr. — as it was one of the first times he saw a young Black man like himself reflected on the pages of a book. He also remembered the first Black man he had as a teacher: Mr. Thomas — and again, the lessons taught in the class may not have stuck, but he remembered what it was like to see himself in the man standing at the blackboard. Russell will return to Oberlin High this school year to teach one course each semester, as well as mentor staff and students. When asked what he would say to someone thinking of becoming a teacher, he said it is the "best profession there is." "You have the opportunity to actually mold and encourage young people, and like I said, I'm not sure there is any profession out there that can say that. You have the pulse of young people in your hand, that if you are a decent teacher, you will greatly encourage and inspire them." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.