Hero: A passion for teaching

You don't have to know her long to figure it out.

By: WSLS-TV Staff Reports | WSLS-TV 10
Published: March 11, 2008

You don’t have to know her long to figure it out.
"Teaching is my passion," Florella Johnson said.
After 46 years as an educator in Franklin County, Jjohnson has made quite a name for herself.
"I have kids all the time who are saying, ‘remember me?’” she said.
Things weren’t always easy for Johnson.
One of her first jobs was at the last one-room school house in Franklin County.
A couple years later she moved to Ferrum Elementary where she was one of eight African American teachers chosen to help desegregate students.
"It was as different for them as it was for me," she said.
Se got through it – never afraid to speak her mind.
"I had no problem talking with my students about what we needed to do as a community to make things work."
Whether it was standing in front of a classroom or working here at the school board office, Florella says in her 46 years with Franklin Co. Public Schools, it was her love of learning that made her so successful.
"That was my goal to be a teacher for all children and to help people see you had a responsibility to learn about all the children who came into your classroom," Johnson said.
Looking back, Johnson describes her career as a wheel.
"When I left, I retired, I felt as good about my career I had chosen as the first day I walked into it."
Her career has come full circle on a path that has touched many people along the way.

Hero: A passion for teaching

Share This:

More from this channel:

Reader Comments

Deal of the Day

Daily Newsletter email

Most Popular