Photo by Erin Nelson.
Vestavia Hills English teacher Michael Sinnott is one of 16 finalists in the Alabama Teacher of theYear awards, seen in the library at Vestavia Hills High School on June 8.
Michael Sinnott said when he first got into teaching more than a decade ago at Auburn City Schools, he enjoyed talking about literature with his students, but over the years, he has developed a desire to help students find their voice in speaking, writing and other forms.
His work has now been rewarded as Sinnott, a teacher at Vestavia Hills High School, is a finalist for Alabama Teacher of the Year.
Sinnott said he was standing in the kitchen with his wife when he saw the email letting him know he was a finalist, and he said he is excited to be able to represent his school and his students.
“It was really surreal,” Sinnott said.
The 10-year veteran of Vestavia Hills High School said he benefits from a strong support system at the school, where he teaches Advanced Placement language and composition, literature courses, creative writing and public speaking. He also sponsors several communication-heavy extracurricular groups such as Youth in Government and the mock trial team.
“What I do can’t happen without the people next to me,” he said.
Students finding their voice happens best in community with their peers, he said. Sinnott said he also seeks to help other teachers create communities in their classrooms.
“The classroom is a community,” Sinnott said. “I want to build a tribe of learners.”
Building that community will be even more important in a post-COVID-19 world, Sinnott said. Before the pandemic ended school prematurely March 13, Sinnott was applying for the state teacher of the year award and was asked to write about a problem facing students. He chose to write about loneliness, something that affects many students, even before COVID-19.
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, students are also seeing civil unrest after the death of George Floyd and other African Americans who die while in police custody. Protests across the country have once again brought discussions of race and civil rights to the forefront of national discussion.
It’s not a discussion that is brand new to students who have gone through Sinnott’s class because similar conversations are held each year in his literature classes as students work through essays and novels, some focusing on civil rights and other race issues.
One of those essays is Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letters from a Birmingham Jail.”
“To teach them ‘Letters from a Birmingham Jail’ is powerful,” Sinnott said. “It’s important now more than ever.”
Teaching literature and writing helps students learn empathy and helps them discover those who are not like them, an essential skill as they grow up and lead their own lives, Sinnott said.
Helping students learn to write also gives them an advantage regardless of their career path, he said.
“No matter what they want to do ... if they can write well, it opens up other doors for them,” Sinnott said.
With “unparalleled” community support, Sinnott said he realized he landed at a top school early on in his career working at Vestavia Hills High School.
“No school is perfect, but this place is pretty magical to be an educator,” he said.
When students return for the fall semester, whether or not Sinnott has the title of “Alabama Teacher of the Year” hanging in his classroom, he said he wants to be prepared to lead them in a world that has seen a lot of change in just a few short months.
“It will be different than it has been in the past 12 years,” Sinnott said. “I want to continue to reach as many [students] as I can.”
