Last month, 18 students were awarded with an acceptance into the National Honor Society, and their lives will never be the same. But they’re not the only ones who were appreciated for their outstanding excellence that day, when you account for who drove them to be that way in the first place. While one can be born excellent, it takes a teacher, a leader, and more importantly, a woman, to really inspire them and push them to an even higher level. Those accepted into the NHS last year, now seniors, on their way to graduation, voted for the Teacher of the Year; the teacher that without, they would feel the most misguided and confused. The 2010 teacher of the year is, after 29 years of dedication at Whitman, Phyllis Frantel.
   Once all the newly inducted students were firmly planted into their chairs, holding their candles, Mrs. Underwood (Teacher of the Year, 09) took the stage and gave her speech, of how she was inspired, to inspire. Then Annie Frantel began her speech, and we all knew who was going to be the Teacher of 2010. Being presented by her own daughter, Mrs. Frantel claimed, unable to restrain her enthusiasm, “was an awesome feeling.” But to Mrs. Frantel, “all students are family, and the most important thing in life is family.” The giant amount of applause at her award as she graciously accepted only seemed natural after seemingly every student interviewed for this article claimed she was their absolute favorite teacher. When asked how it felt to be up there looking back at her students, she said: “I felt honored and humbled to be selected. It’s nice to know you made a difference.” She claims to be, “Very proud of my students. I’m very close to them, and I’ve watched them grow up.” When asked about the speech she will make next year, she said she “isn’t comfortable in that kind of environment. I’m not a wordy person, but I will.” She only asks that in the future, kids “consider as many teachers for the award as they can, many of them deserve an award like this.” Mrs. Frantel is not a woman eager to boast about this award. She would rather be proud of her students. One does not detect even a hint of vanity; even after such an accolade, she would rather focus on her job.
   Though it was the decision of the NHS Seniors that chose Mrs. Frantel, seemingly everyone in the school agrees that she was a perfect candidate for the award, more than deserving (awarded a little late, perhaps?). But what was truly special was that not only was it a celebration of learning, and the joy of teaching, but one of family, as well. The fact that Annie Frantel, Mrs. Frantel’s youngest daughter who is part of the Senior class NHS gave her speech and presented her mother with the award was especially heartwarming. Quite the more than memorable event: the 2009 NHS award ceremony, where Mrs. Frantel, nearing her 30th year at Whitman, was awarded the Teacher of the Year award, presented by her own daughter. It was an awesome moment, and one could only imagine the delight they both felt, both as proud as each other as they could be, and how they will look back on it. One doesn’t have to make that much of an argument to say that the Senior Class owes a lot to Mrs. Frantel, as they all proudly declare, and Mrs. Frantel accepting the award chose by them had to mean so much for the seniors, who many claim to have basically been raised by Mrs. Frantel. Lynn Eddinger says, “I wish she was my Mom.” It was a mutually humble, appreciative, cherishing moment as they all gathered together and demonstrated how much teachers really can matter to us kids, in our strange, strange time of upbringing.
   Annie Frantel was shy talking about the event, perhaps not a ‘wordy person’, just like her mother. “It was very heartwarming. I was overwhelmed with joy. She’s provided for me my whole life, and I got to return the favor. I am very happy for her. I love my Mom.” Annie has always felt that it was slightly ‘awkward’ having her own Mother as a teacher, as one can imagine, but let’s not kid ourselves, Annie. We can only imagine the companionship, the love, and the learning, on such a mutual level, that they are lucky enough to share.
   The seniors are more than proud, having Mrs. Frantel as the patron saint of their final year, because they know that Mrs. Frantel is equally proud to have made such a difference among them. She is Teacher of the Year, the motivator, the strict, loving, caring, proud woman who according to Andrew Eddinger, “we’d all be lost without.”