TEACHER'S CORNER: OAK RIDGE'S MCNAIR KEEPS TEACHING A FAMILY TRADITION

OAK RIDGE -- When Marylou McNair decided to become a teacher, she was just following in the footsteps of her mother, aunts, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. Her family has included teachers for the last 140 years.

McNair teaches home economics and junior-high science at Oak Ridge High School. She has taught at Oak Ridge for 14 years.

Even though teaching gets harder each year, McNair said, it can be gratifying. Teachers get blamed for lots of things they aren't responsible for and are expected to solve society's ills and turn out students who are nearly perfect, she said.

"Fat chance," McNair said. "But when a student does well, or when you see the light come on indicating understanding, then it can be gratifying."

Students in her classes have lots of time to participate in the learning experience.

"Nothing teaches quite as well as actually doing something," she said.

Students plan and prepare meals; they become problem-solvers as they sew clothing projects.

Often home economics gives students who don't excel in other classes the opportunity to do well.

McNair remembers one girl whose mother was sure she couldn't complete a clothing project. "We sure made her eat her words," McNair said. "Her daughter did successfully complete the project and was so proud of her new shirt."

She received a note from a graduating senior expressing appreciation for "teaching me something I didn't know I could do" -- sew.

Hopefully, McNair said, students will learn skills to help them become better homemakers, "something we all are at one time or another in our lives."

McNair and her husband, Daniel, have two daughters, Marian and Anna. She is a member of Grace United Methodist Church, MSTA, River Heritage Quilt Guild and professional home economists organizations.