Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a teacher who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a man or woman and a teacher. Above all, the Teacher of the Month is dedicated to his or her students. Rich or poor, famous or not, he or she shines as an example of what teaching is all about.

Our choice for January is Janice Givens, a 10th grade teacher at W.P. Davidson High School in Mobile, Ala., and mother of two.

Janice Givens a teacher dedicated to helping her students thrive. She juggles both motherhood and teaching, managing to help her journalism students at W.P. Davidson High School in Mobile, Ala., create the school's yearbook and newspaper. She also teaches 10th grade English and Latin.

The Blessing of Infertility
Givens is also the mother of two little boys, 19-month-old Jonathon and 6-month-old Thomas. Her boys are very close in age and very special to her. Givens adopted Jonathon when she thought she was facing infertility.

But after Givens adopted Jonathon, she found out she was pregnant. "I never believed that infertility was a blessing until we had Thomas," she says. "If we had gotten pregnant with Thomas first, we would never have gotten Jonathon through adoption. We feel so blessed to have Jonathon as our son! It is funny how things work out."

Before Givens was blessed with her two sons, she says she desperately wanted children but faced the possibility of infertility. Many students would ask if she had kids, and when she would answer no, they would want to know why. She says that being honest is the best reply when students ask personal questions, because they just want to get to know their teachers better.

"My students seemed to understand better than some adults," she says. "They were encouraging and would often say, 'We are Mrs. Givens' kids.' They were that! We eventually adopted Jonathon and then had Thomas. My students were very supportive during both events."

Going the Extra Mile
Givens shows determination in all she does – from her determination to become a mother to bringing out the best in her students. She finds it very difficult to give up on a student. She wants them to succeed and will do anything she can to help make it happen.

"I believe that all people have something great inside of them," she says. "My job is to help them bring it to light. I see my accomplishments as a teacher in my students' successes. When I help a student prepare for our Alabama High School Exit Exam, which is required to graduate, and they pass, that is when I feel my greatest accomplishment."

And this is evident to her students. "My favorite part of Mrs. Givens' journalism class is the way she will do anything to help a student out," says Ashley Kilcrease, who has been Givens' student for two years. "She is constantly assisting students with their newspaper stories or helping them with their yearbook spreads. She will go the extra mile to help any student."

Kilcrease says that Givens also puts in a lot of her own time toward the school's yearbook and newspaper to make sure they are the best the student staff members can produce. "Even though she has two small children which are the joys of her life, she still takes time out of her afternoons and weekends to do things for the staff," she says.

College Bound
According to Kilcrease, Givens is very encouraging and a great mentor. She is always willing to talk to her students when they seem like they've had a stressful day or when they just look a little down.

"There are lots of seniors in our journalism class, and she is always very encouraging when it comes to college," she says. "She has encouraged a very good friend of mine that she can go to college even though she will have to get a student loan and work to pay for it all by herself. Mrs. Givens always tries to give students hope, even when things look rough."

Givens has had a great influence on what Kilcrease is going to do after high school this year. "Mrs. Givens chose me as an editor for the yearbook and taught me a lot about putting the layouts together," she says. "She saw that I was really interested in this, and by allowing me to fulfill this position, it has made me realize that I want to pursue this as a career. She would always talk to me about what I wanted to do, and has always been very supportive. I think she was very thrilled when I told her I wanted to be a journalist!"

A Great Story
Givens says teaching is different today than when she started nine years ago. In her opinion, emotional endurance, dedication and understanding are the most important qualities to be a teacher today.

"Our students bring a great deal of baggage when they come through that door each day," she says. "We must make school a place where they are each equal, valued and essential. They must feel that way. In order to face the students each day you must be prepared to do those things. It takes a multitude of preparation hours, but it can be done."

According to Givens, apathy is her greatest challenge. She sees hopelessness in so many students today. They feel that they cannot make a difference so they don't even want to think about it. "My job is to not only make them want to change the world, but to help them determine and care about what is wrong in it," she says.

To help with the apathy and to get the interest of her students, Givens tries to make her lessons come alive. She uses a great deal of storytelling when teaching. "If I tell the information in the form of a story, it is amazing how the students get interested," she says. "I try to help them put themselves into the content and realize how they would feel if they were at the center of the topic."

Givens says she loves her school and feels very proud and lucky to be part of such a professional and caring faculty that takes personal responsibility for the success of each student. "I love our students," she says. "We have the most talented, energetic, dedicated students I have ever taught. They make my job a joy."

During her second year of teaching, Givens was assigned a remediation class to prepare for the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. She was told by several to do the best she could but not to expect much. "We worked hard preparing for the test," she says. "I never gave up on them even when they were giving up on themselves. The test day came and went and they very discouraged." Six weeks later, when the results came back, the entire class had passed. "I have never been so proud of any students," she says. "I still get cards from some of those students thanking me for not giving up."

Recognition
"As I am about to end my high school years by graduating, I am able to look back on all the people who helped inspire me, and one person continues to come to mind," says Kilcrease. "Mrs. Givens may never receive a reward of recognition for her hard work, but in my heart I know that she is the kind of teacher that everyone should be able to experience. I feel lucky to have known her!"

Want to see more?

• Truth Be Told: Uncovering Common Infertility Myths
• Adoptions: Where Do I Start?
• iParenting Adoption
• Read about past Teachers of the Month here!
• Talk about it!