Sophia says …
Slowly but surely as you grow up, you realize your parents are actual people functioning in the world as individuals, separate from their relationship to you. You realize that they, too, have friends, siblings, and even parents of their own. You begin to hear stories about their lives instead of only being asked questions about yours. And if you’re lucky enough, you eventually realize that you are indeed very proud of the people that your parents are. So when my mom told me the news, that she was being honored as the 2026 Minnesota State Board of Trustees Educator of the Year, I felt proud, but not because of the title.
I am proud because she is such a talented educator that other people couldn’t help but notice.
Her passion and care for her students and her work is so evident that others felt it imperative that she receive recognition on a large scale. I have seen the care she puts into lesson plans, the interest she has in her students’ success, her dedication to making each and every class the most engaging it can be. That is what makes me proud. Not the title or even the recognition.
As the daughter of two teachers, I grew up hearing, “Your parent is Professor Gaul? I took their class!”
By this point more than a dozen of my friends have taken a class taught by one of my parents, and I purposefully never ask if they like the lectures, because I don’t want to pressure them into saying something nice. However, almost every time they say this sentence, it’s followed by some anecdote about what they learned, or how interesting the class was. Although I’ve heard many of these stories, it still makes me proud that my parents are good at what they do.
My mom’s entire teaching philosophy could be summed up in three words: make history fun.
I have laced up corsets, finger curled wigs, and sampled every type of grain you can imagine for my mom and her lesson plans. I know the long hours she spends at her desk at home, thinking about new ways to engage students and convince them that history is so incredibly relevant to their lives.
She is knowledgeable, but that isn’t what makes her a good teacher. Now being in college myself, I know there is a vast difference between an academic who just happens to also teach classes, and an educator who works in higher education. My mother spent years of her life studying and writing so she could become the best teacher she could be, but it’s her enthusiasm and inventive classroom activities that make her a great educator.
Nowadays my mother frequently calls me on her drive to work in the morning. Because of the time zones, her early morning commute to Worthington is pretty much the only time that works for the two of us to hear each other’s life updates. Every time we call, I know I will get to hear an anecdote about a student, the content of her upcoming lessons, or details about the costume she’s wearing from the time period she is teaching about that day.
All this to say, my mom is pretty incredible, and it’s wonderful that other people see that, too.
