A Blind Teacher on Seeing Your Students

Vicki Davis (00:00): Episode 1001. Now, when we started this podcast, episode 00, it was Sue and Mrs. Scruggs, where I told a story about my mom and really got to the heart of teaching. For episode 1001, I wanted to do the same thing. We’re going to air an extended episode from Kathy Nimmer, the Helen Keller Award winner for 2026. She taught English language arts for 29 years, and then she worked with teacher retention and helping teachers stay into teaching. She had me in tears of joy several times in this interview. So I wanted to do something special to kick off the thousand series of interviews for the 10 Minute Teacher. So here is a very motivational Monday from Kathy Nimmer.

Announcer (00:50): This is the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with your host, Vicki Davis.

Vicki Davis (00:54): Today, we’re talking with Kathy Nimmer. Thank you for coming on the show.

Kathy Nimmer (00:59): I have been looking so forward to this. Thank you for having me.

Vicki Davis (01:02): Kathy, we want to go back to your first year teaching. And you’ve done quite a few interviews on this. I don’t want to steal the thunder. Just tell the story so that everybody listening can just understand. Because my first year was rocky, and I know yours was too. So let’s talk about it.

Kathy Nimmer (01:21): Rocky is a mild term. I would say. Let’s call it the Rocky Mountains, perhaps. I think that’s a little more apt. So I’m totally blind and I am smart. I’m capable. I’m driven. And I’m still looking back at that super young, naive teacher. Everybody starts there. And totally blind teaching in a regular public high school classroom. At first, I didn’t know what I was doing since I was a new teacher. Second, I didn’t know how to be. And that statement… Is pivotal to my career because here I am as a person who cannot see anything and I wanted to be a great teacher. So I knew that was one thing I wanted to be. I didn’t know where the blindness fit into that. So my early choice was to minimize that. And so I did all the wrong things. Like I know that now, but I did all the wrong things to try to be less blind or make that less central. I didn’t want to bump into furniture in the classroom when I was teaching, so I stayed behind the podium. I didn’t move around. I didn’t want to call on the wrong student or get the name wrong, so I didn’t call on students. I lectured. Kind of silly and free and enthusiastic, but I didn’t want to do that without being able to really gauge their response since I couldn’t see the visual cues, so I was really stern. All the things that, in hindsight, were poor teaching choices, but done with justified intent. After the fascination of having a blind teacher, it caused just such a wide open door for disconnection, for misbehavior, for chaos. And I didn’t have any answers because I was certain I was right about trying to minimize my disability. It was nuts. I wasn’t building relationships. I wasn’t being my authentic self. It was chaotic. A couple months in, the kids were horsing around before class and two kids were playing catch with a loaded book bag. This was back when there were heavy textbooks instead of digital textbooks. One kid tossed his bag to another whose catching ability was approximately like mine. The bag slammed into my window in the classroom and the whole window shattered.

Kathy Nimmer (03:31): Glass flew. The sound was gigantic. It was horrifying. I remember standing there just with my hands on my face and. Everyone came running, you know, everyone. I feel the whole school came running and it was other students, it was teachers, it was administrators. I just wanted to disappear. That moment, I had a plan B for a different thing I wanted to do that I felt called to do besides teaching. That would have been the moment to start pursuing that.

Vicki Davis (03:59): Yeah.

Kathy Nimmer (04:00): But I didn’t have it.

Vicki Davis (04:01): You said it shattered your heart. I mean, oh.

Kathy Nimmer (04:04): It was everything. It was everything was shattered. I started not trusting my own decisions because how could I be right that I was supposed to be a teacher when this happened? You know, everything was shattered. The unemployment rate for people with vision impairments is high 70 percent.

Vicki Davis (04:21): Wow.

Kathy Nimmer (04:22): I was always determined to not be there. I wanted to be in the 30 and my principal had every right to let me go at that point. But you know what? They didn’t. They let me have the year. And I came back after pure devastation, after then, decided to change my approach and brought my authentic self to the classroom because I figured they wouldn’t ask me back anyway the next year, but I had a little time to play and, become different from how I started. Things started changing and there was enough change, enough authenticity, enough joking, moving around, building relationships, being light, about being the person with a disability, being okay with that, that the students started to feel more okay. And they kept me for one more year. And really, When I started being authentically myself, and that included my blindness, then started the year that way, then everything shifted. And my, I was just about to say my career began, but that’s not true. My career began.

Kathy Nimmer (05:27): That window because it needed to include that shattered window because otherwise wouldn’t have, I wouldn’t have figured it out you know that we need to bring our true selves our abilities and our limitations to everything to the classroom because our students have those true selves they’re bringing too and, yeah I think back to that time and I think of what I needed what I had what I didn’t have, what I learned about me, what I learned about life. And I am glad that it began that way. I wasn’t glad when it was happening, but I’m glad it began that way because it launched me into a career that is the signature of my professional being. I am a teacher and it began there.

Vicki Davis (06:12): And I love what you said. I mean, you’ve been interviewed by CBS, you’ve had TED Talks, of course, Indiana Teacher of the Year, finalist for National Teacher of the Year. So we didn’t just get it together a little bit. You just really had an amazing classroom. But you said that even though you’re blind, you learned to see your students. Okay, so help me understand that beautiful, wonderful sentence and what it means to you to see your students.

Kathy Nimmer (06:42): It’s an advantage or maybe a superpower that I didn’t understand at the beginning. But as my momentum built and I reflected because I’m a strong believer that we need to reflect after everything that we do the things that don’t go well why that didn’t go well and the things that are going well why it’s going well I think both sides are important. And so when I started seeing changes in my classroom and I started thinking like what’s happening here why is this so much better. And I realized that whole relationship piece, which we all know is crucial for educators. And I thought, okay, yes, I’m getting to know my students, but what do I know about them? What I don’t know about them is their hair color and their weight and whether they’re going through a spell of acne. I taught teenagers. So, you know, we’ve got all the things going on, right? We’ve got everyone else who’s in those transitional phases. I didn’t know those things. And I was still thriving with the relationships. And it just dawned on me one day, I’m getting to see what a privilege. I’m getting to see my students from the heart. That doesn’t mean that I had it all completely figured out and that everybody should go and, you know, ask for eye removal or something. I think instead of eye removal, I think it’s better vision, maybe, is what we would be looking for. Because none of those factors that.

Kathy Nimmer (08:13): Intuitively cause us to make quick judgments. None of those things are in place for me because I am listening to their voice. I am reading what they’re submitting. I am hearing the silences and the things they’re saying. And I’m not distracted by the visuals that make me understand the price of their clothing or the brand of their shoes or things like that. And there are disadvantages. I’m not picking up on some of the language or the look. There are other things that are harder, but seeing them for who they are is easier for me. I’ll take that. The harder stuff with being blind, there’s plenty of that, but I’m sure going to take the wins as well.

Vicki Davis (08:59): I think it’s a beautiful attitude. And, you know, some of your students have publicly said, I didn’t know I was a writer. And Ms. Nimmer helped me see that I’m a writer because you taught English language arts. I mean, this has not been an easy profession, but wow, you’re great at it. And, you know, what’s your message to those who struggle at first, that first year? Because we’re getting ready to talk about your new teacher program. And most of us, me included, my first year was pretty terrible.

Kathy Nimmer (09:33): Again, like when I’m looking back, I wish it were a better first year. I’m a big believer in the word and versus but. I feel like but counts what’s in the front part of the sentence and includes the front and the back of the sentence, the whole picture. I wish it were an easier first year and I would not be the teacher I became without that first year. I think going into an early career experience, you’re going in with wide eyes and a lot of hope in your heart. And I hope you come out of that with wide eyes and a whole lot of hope in your heart in spite of all the things that happen along the way, because things will happen. You don’t have it figured out. You don’t have the context that everything will be okay and you know that and you can lean on that because you don’t have that experience. There are so many, so many, so many moments that are going to unfold that are good and hard, both. Just going in with that realistic view that learning requires change. We’re asking that of our students. We’re asking them to not be married to old ways that stay there just because they’ve always been that way. We’re asking them to stretch and change. And for the new teacher, that has to be a baseline. That has to be foundational. Every day is progress. And it’s not measured by how well it went or how poorly it went. It’s measured by the sunrise. Every morning, there is a chance to get better. And getting better means reflecting on what is going well, what is not going well and why, and then harnessing that knowledge to keep moving forward to that next sunrise and that next sunrise.

Vicki Davis (11:21): So let’s talk about the new teacher program that you’ve been working with.

Kathy Nimmer (11:25): It began with a beautiful alignment of when I was teacher of the year coming off of that year of service of traveling and doing hundreds of presentations and public events. And my district wanted to capitalize on what I had learned and where my passion was and also keep me in the classroom. So we created this hybrid role for me to teach part of the day and then simply to pour into new teachers the other part of the day. There was no name for the program. There was just, There was the knowledge that new teachers needed more than they were getting. And we didn’t have the answers. We just had that need. And what a beautiful thing to work for leadership that recognizes that. For several years, what was I thinking? I kept the heaviest grading classes. So creative writing and senior composition, I kept those. So I was still teaching and still grading and still loving that. And then I just traveled around the district and I visited the new teachers. I visited them when they were teaching. I visited them when they were not teaching, and I simply loved on them. Can you imagine a better job than that?

Kathy Nimmer (12:34): Pouring into them, like lifting them up the same way I had lifted up students, just this time just listening to them and affirming them. Over those years of the hybrid experience, then COVID approached, and my leadership, again, very wise and insightful, knew that this would change things in education. And this was the time to commit to creating a new program, a true program with protocols, with depth, and that would be my whole focus. So at the COVID year was the creation, lots of research, deep thought about what the program would be and the naming of it, which was beautiful. We called it SEEDS, S-E-E-D-S, Supporting Educators Entering District Service and all kinds of tree analogies and growth and all of that. But that’s what I pivoted to do full time, pour into the true newbies, those 22 year olds, but also everybody, all newcomers who were in our district for the first time.

Kathy Nimmer (13:37): And I did that on lots of levels. But I will tell you without a doubt, the core of that program and the core of my belief system is not based on professional development. It’s not based on access to resources. It is based on love and happiness and well-being. And it’s the same thing that I discovered as a new teacher after that window shattered, that when we are in a situation that is a place to grow, we are only going to grow if we feel loved and nurtured, recognized and seen. And so I simply took all those principles that I used in the classroom and. To make a difference with my students, I simply took that and made that the center of this program and just found ways to love those teachers and to nurture their happiness and take care of their well-being so that they could thrive. Because there was no way I could ever know what professional advice to give to a kindergarten teacher one morning and a high school chemistry teacher the same afternoon. Yeah.

Kathy Nimmer (14:42): There was no use trying to be that answer. That’s not what good, true new teacher support is, in my opinion. It is loving them. It is nurturing them. It is speaking the affirmation. One of my favorite practices in the program is called affirmative observations. So I would schedule a half hour to an hour where I would just come into their classroom, open my computer, put my earbud in because I have a screen reader that’s real robotic and actually rather creepy sounding. And I would take notes for the solid the entire time I was in there only on the good things. Only every single positive that I heard. Nothing, nothing negative, nothing suggested, nothing. And just all these affirmations. And I can’t tell you how many teachers were so nervous about having me come in. They see somebody taking notes in the corner of the room and they’re thinking of their administrator doing an evaluation. And that’s intimidating. And so that first time I often had to push my way in, but I did push for that because when it’s something good, it is worth being pushy about it. And I’d write this, clean it up, and I’d send this to them. And they would receive this huge email of pure affirmation. That’s it. There’s no catch, Nothing. Just hearing the things. Even down to, I loved your tone of voice when you talked to Jane about stopping this or whatever. Just anything I overheard, I affirmed. Could we make the world a better place if that was our default communication? Yes. And I can’t change the world, but I could change those classroom experiences. And what happened because some skeptical colleagues thought those affirmative observations would make a teacher complacent. Okay, I’m doing all of these things so well. And you know this, I bet, and your listeners know this. A true educator

Kathy Nimmer (16:43): Does not become complacent when they are affirmed. They become grateful and thirsty to amplify that and keep it.

Vicki Davis (16:51): Absolutely.

Kathy Nimmer (16:52): Why do we ever think it’s not that way? Because you’re not falling into education. You are choosing education because you’re drawn that way. There are a lot of easier careers to fall into that don’t require the emotional price that teaching commands. So if they’re there, they’re there because they were drawn there. And so if I’m affirming those things, those little things that they don’t even notice, their wait time and their movement and how many times they called students by name, you know, is always so important. All those things. That’s just so simple, right? The low-hanging fruit, the thing we can all do, the speaking those words of affirmation. I didn’t have that as much as I needed it when I was a new teacher, but boy, I sure can give it now.

Vicki Davis (17:39): This is the thing is the observations. I don’t know why those who do the observations think that it’s really important to find everything that’s wrong. Because a true observation takes it. It is the and you talked about earlier. They see this and that. We can have great things and we can have areas of improvement. But you’re right. Kathy, I’ve always been my biggest critic. And sometimes when I just hear negative, I wonder, should I even be doing this? You know, I mean, we go into that. And then if I ever had anybody who would come in and notice something positive, I could go for months on that praise because you are proud of the things you do. And it is hard and it is difficult. You know, I bet you had some teachers who received that email who just came back to you and what were the kind of things they would say to you when they would receive that email.

Kathy Nimmer (18:38): The emails I saved, because I hope every teacher has that folder they create in their inbox, you know, a subfolder of things to save. My folder, I named it saving. That was a word that mattered to me because I was saving these things. But honestly, those things were saving me at the same time because they were the words of shock, of deep emotion, of I didn’t even know that this was happening. I didn’t know that I did these things. It’s more than in the classroom that we need this. And my sector of influence during the time of building and directing this program was the classroom. And if I could give them that there, then they were going to use that. And I’m a strong believer too on specifics. So not just great job. Great job is a nice starting point.

Kathy Nimmer (19:29): Great job with blah, blah, blah. And that’s the English teacher in me. That’s the person who’s graded probably thousands of short stories and research papers and all of that. I was strongly committed to specific feedback. And I just translated that into the new teacher support as well. Because great job doesn’t stick when you don’t know what was great, what you didn’t maybe even recognized as great. I love that. And I love outside of the K-12 scene, I love being a person committed to those things. And I thirst for that myself. And when I’m struggling personally about something that’s not even related to my profession, sometimes call up that friend who’s really good at this too, you know, really good at that specific affirmation, because we all need that. The human heart needs that fervor and that honesty. And I loved giving that to the new teachers.

Vicki Davis (20:23): So, Kathy, I believe this program, you received some grants. And what was the success of the program for new teachers?

Kathy Nimmer (20:31): We did wonderful things. And the state of Indiana created, several pathways to recognize various initiatives, new programs for all different, specific focus points throughout the state. And so as SEEDS gained momentum and, of course, looked different the second year from the first year and the third year from the second year, as we all should be looking different as educators, the program was evolving as well. So we applied for a grant that was connected to an award from the state of Indiana. And the award was called Excellence in Leading and Learning. And we were the proud recipients of that grant, $225,000 for amazing, just like Christmas Day surprise type, like wow things for all of our educators. And then a chance to be celebrated at a big banquet by the state for daring to dream and act on the dream. And that really, again, circles back to a leadership team from the top down, from the bottom up, that knew that it was worth an investment in our newest teachers for practical reasons. We want them to stay and we want them to thrive. So recruitment and retention. So the tangible, numeric outcomes. But for the bigger reason of well-being and happiness and knowing that somebody who is in the heart is going to be more impactful for the students, be more likely, to lead and take risks and recover from the hard moments. And so what a privilege to work for a leadership team that knew that, to be trusted as the person to create the program, coordination with the central office folks. And yet with such independence given to me.

Kathy Nimmer (22:42): To really dig in and create, I have actually myself recently taken an early retirement and handed the program off to the next director and carry on all the principles of the program as I do professional development and speaking opportunities and consulting, and simultaneous to that. So, so proud that I created something that is of lasting impact. So my teacher classes in SEEDS were, I’m certain, the biggest that our district will ever have because turnover, as you know, was a growing issue before COVID. And then post-COVID, the numbers have been just gigantic. SEEDS simultaneously grew into existence at that time. So we had so many new teachers, so many needs, so many teachers coming in who were not trained, who were coming in on alternate pathways and taking classes at the same time. Like so much. I was able to lead and grow SEEDS beside and with them. Some of the best, best memories of my education career will always be during that season. The sapling of SEEDS was wonderful to witness.

Vicki Davis (23:58): So this year, and you do have so many opportunities because you’re the 2026 award winner of the Helen Keller Award, and that’s not an award you apply for. They basically find you. Now, when that happened, describe it. I mean, were you surprised? And then when you received it, like, what were the things that you said? Because that is just remarkable receiving that award.

Kathy Nimmer (24:24): So when you said my first year was rocky and I said, that’s a mild word. I will say surprise is a mild word for the Helen Keller because you do not apply. You are not nominated. Like there is no, there is no pathway. It is happening outside of you. When I got the call from the American Foundation for the Blind, I did not answer the call because I thought it was a spam. Would they be calling me? I did not. I literally did not answer. Let it go to voicemail. And it did go to voicemail. So I listened to that and I recognized the name of their CEO and I recognized his voice. And I’m like, huh, this is either a highly sophisticated scam or it’s really them. And of course, the message didn’t say why he was calling, but, I called him back and he told me and I was so excited and really thrilled until I hung up and I researched the award and the past winners and everything went.

Kathy Nimmer (25:23): Downward when I saw Stevie Wonder’s name on that list. Then lots of people who are not disabled but have made an impact on the world of disability with access and inclusion and the reason I went spiraling down is my name does not match those. And I stand by that. It is not, we are not the same. And I’m always my harshest critic, but we’re so self-aware when we’re those reflective people. We’re so aware of all the ways that we have fallen short. And I know those things well. And that began quite the process for a couple of months. It was embargoed information, so I couldn’t share beyond my inner circle. So it was quietly sitting with this discomfort of, my gosh, when people know and they see my name on there, they were going to think, oh, they must have really been short of candidates.

Vicki Davis (26:13): No, you’re here. I’m not going to let you keep putting yourself down because a teaching is so noble and it’s so underappreciated. And that’s who you are.

Kathy Nimmer (26:22): Well, and that’s where I ultimately landed. My superintendent, who I’ve referenced, not by name, but Dr. Scott Hanback, who was behind me for the creation of SEEDS. The turning point with my acceptance of the Helen Keller really happened in a conversation with him when he quoted Philippians 4:8 about focusing on the things that are lovely and good and true and right. And he talked about how we are used, we’re not just grown in the valley. We are also grown on the mountaintop and that there was purpose in all of it. And I settled in around that. When I won teacher of the year, I knew I wasn’t the best teacher in Indiana. I wasn’t one of the top four teachers in the nation. I knew those things.

Kathy Nimmer (27:11): But I was an active part of that competition cycle. There were interviews and like all of that. This Helen Keller felt like I had nothing to do with it at first. And then it just felt so wrong in such a poor fit and then thinking about it, it’s like, you know, if this award is recognizing someone who simply followed her passion and kept looking for that sunrise day after day after day, if that’s what the message is in me receiving this award, then so be it. Because that’s what most people have the chance to do. It’s that rare air where there’s somebody famous and, you know, doing all the superstar things. I’m not a superstar. I am somebody who had a calling and found my way forward one step at a time. And if that’s the messaging that is given to people with disabilities or people watching the world of disability, if that’s, the part that is named after Helen Keller, the part of the struggle before the big breakthrough, not just everything that happened after that, then I can sit in that and I can stand in that and I can be okay in that because that is true. And it is right and it is good. And it was a beautiful experience. I loved the opportunity to represent people.

Kathy Nimmer (28:24): Somebody not reaching for the stars, but simply, again, watching for that sunrise and believing that there was purpose in every day. And yes, it was a beautiful thing.

Vicki Davis (28:35): But if you think about Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, her teacher, she and saw Helen and saw the greatness in her when nobody else did. I mean, nobody knew what to do with her. They were trying to, they were going to send her away. They just did not know what to do with her. And it was a teacher who persisted and made it through. She had far more than a broken window, Anne Sullivan. I mean, Helen fought her, and it was more than thankless for so many years. And here is this brilliant child inside, and I think it’s very fitting for a teacher. And I know you’ve told me previously that your friends say that you’re a grab-a-tissue kind of speaker, and you are because I’ll tell you something that I’ve not shared on the air. Philippians 4:8 is my litmus test for who I have on the show. It is my litmus test for what I choose to air, if it’s praiseworthy, if it’s excellent, because we’re supposed to, our minds are so needing to think on the positive and the good things. It doesn’t mean that there’s not bad things in the world. It doesn’t mean that controversies or injustice. I’m not saying any of that But we need to choose how we think And when we’re a teacher

Vicki Davis (29:57): It is so important That we control our thought life Because if our thought life gets away from us We lose what you talked about earlier, the emotional strength to continue to do the job because we have so much negative coming at us all the time. I mean, we work with kids, for goodness sakes. They’re not known to be the most positive human beings on the planet at that stage and age. They tend, you know, complaining kind of becomes a hobby of middle schoolers and many high schoolers. So this focusing on the excellent and the praiseworthy. And I’m glad you accepted the award. I think it’s poetic and beautiful. And speaking of poetry, you are a poet. So is there a line you would love every teacher to carry into this school year?

Kathy Nimmer (30:51): Two things. Two things that I ask the new teachers to hold. I ask the mid-career teachers to hold. And those teachers who are almost at the finish line, all two things. Number one, we tend to find what we seek, what you were just saying about the good and focusing on the good does not ignore the truth that there are hard things. But our brains are inclined to remember those hard things so well. So we don’t need help with that. We also don’t need help from our hardened next door colleague to remember the negative either. Like that’s going to happen. We’ve got that. So we tend to find what we seek. So choose to seek that good. Choose to look for those things. That’s what I was doing with affirmative observations. You know, I think those were as much of a gift to myself as to those teachers, because all I was doing was looking for the good. And I found it in every single classroom, every single classroom. We tend to find what we seek. So choose what you are seeking. Then number two, make sure that you are always remembering that sunrise is. Because no matter whether a day went incredibly well or poorly, no matter whether you have that parent, the nightmare situation with a parent, or that administrator who doesn’t vibe with you, there’s a tomorrow. And with every sunrise, it’s fresh. And that is so cliche, and it is still so true.

Kathy Nimmer (32:19): Both things can be accurate. There is a tomorrow, and you have that choice. You have that choice every time the bell rings to come in with a new attitude. Every time that a student has a need, you have that choice. It’s always new. And I sure don’t have it all figured out. And I sure have had hard seasons. And, you know, it’s a constant process. And knowing that the sunrise is always there, gosh, even when I literally can’t see it, knowing that it’s there, that is the difference maker for me.

Vicki Davis (32:55): Sometimes you meet these people who you feel like see life more clearly than others. And, Kathy, you can say what you want to about yourself, but I do believe you clearly see the classroom and you clearly see the struggle and that you’re a great representative of us teachers. And I do want to talk about this because as somebody who’s used assistive tech your whole career, what is actually helping with assistive tech these days? And those who say, okay, I’m blind, but I want to be part of that 30. I want to contribute. I want to add to the world like Helen Keller and like Kathy Nimmer. What are some of the important things that they need to master so that they can truly impact a profession just like you have?

Kathy Nimmer (33:48): Such a complicated picture. It’s competency and the basic things. So I have a screen reader that helps me navigate on the laptop and on my iPhone. So it’s competency in those things. It’s strong skills in your area of focus. So rightly or wrongly, I think I needed to be in the upper half of teaching ability to compensate for any doubts that came along with, can I even do this because I am blind? And I’m talking about internal doubts and doubts of others, both, both. So really strong development of your skills in your area. You can’t be average. Maybe should, you should be able to be average, but you can’t be. So you need to be in the stronger part to prove the doubters wrong. And all of that can be in place. While the world still sees three candidates, one is blind, it’s going to be easier to go with one of the other two. And so it’s that whole advocacy, resilience, that whole awareness, that whole staying positive, not just for yourself, but to spread a belief in the world that is not disabled, that people with disabilities actually can do, the things and actually can be among your best potential employees. And they need that chance. That door needs to be opened. On top of that, those of us who are in that 30% need also to be willing to mentor and through that open door help usher someone else through. It’s not much of a door if it only opens to one person. So much. That’s another three-hour conversation, right?

Vicki Davis (35:37): Life is not easy for anybody. It’s more difficult for others, absolutely. as we’re finishing up. Let’s talk about the people in your career who truly saw you. They saw the greatness in you before you realized you could even do it.

Kathy Nimmer (35:54): It’s just this huge array. It’s the second grade teacher who saw me suddenly struggling when I had been succeeding and, suspected that I needed glasses because I was a fully sighted child and started to struggle in second grade. And she didn’t just brush it off as meeting some academic ceiling that was now suddenly making errors show up. She thought harder and watched and suggested that I needed glasses, which began the whole chase down of what was going on and ultimately a diagnosis of impending blindness. If she hadn’t seen so early, I wouldn’t have been able to track the progress of what was happening with my vision, which affected every part of my life. It was my parents. Five doctors told my parents that there was nothing wrong with my vision. I was doing this to get attention, making it up. And they believed more. I’m fortunate to still have them. They’re in their 80s now. And my whole life, they were afraid for choices I made and always ended up being my biggest cheerleaders, the consummate belief in me. It was the fifth grade teacher who took off of school to go down to the School for the Blind with us to tour when we knew I would be going there in sixth grade. She wanted to make sure the school was good enough and that I would be educated well there. She took a personal day to go down three hours away with us to tour that campus and hearing her voice in the hallways that I would call home, literally living there, and being schooled there for seven years through middle and high school was amazing. It was the professors who helped

Kathy Nimmer (37:46): When my vision had dropped a lot in college and, you know, ultimately it was that first principal who hired me, I think, because I had credentials, but also because he liked to be first and the daring, oh, I’m going to be, he liked to be on the cutting edge. So I was the first blind teacher in anywhere around here. And I’m sure he regretted that for a little while, but I know ultimately he didn’t. He saw beyond where I was and took that risk. And honestly, it was the students who, once they started responding to me, were the affirmation that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. And so many more pastors, counselors and therapists, because, yeah, it’s not been squeaky colleague, who defended me to another colleague who said I was only winning awards because I was blind and they felt sorry for me. Believers and the doubters and those who’ve stayed by who I am and reminded me of who I am and whose I am. I am not alone. And none of us, not one of us is alone. Thank God.

Vicki Davis (39:03): Absolutely. Thank God for sure. I appreciate you telling your raw, honest story. What’s your encouragement to that new teacher going in the classroom this school year? You have words.

Kathy Nimmer (39:16): I’m an English teacher, so I always have words.

Vicki Davis (39:19): Oh, no.

Kathy Nimmer (39:21): But my biggest word is just hold on to that hope. Hold on to that belief that you are here because there is a student in your classroom, maybe more than one, but it doesn’t have to be more than one. There’s a student who needs exactly and only what you, you alone can bring. I am so confident of the intricacy of the big plan that I believe that wholeheartedly, that there is somebody sitting in one of those desks whose life can be changed only by you. And you may never know who that person is. You may not know who that person is until a few years down the road. You may know it instantly. It doesn’t matter. The belief that that student is waiting for exactly what you have to bring because of your life experiences and the words you speak and the way that you are, that will keep you going. So never, ever forget that someone needs you and only you. So what a privilege, to be in a position to make that kind of difference.

Vicki Davis (40:17): So it’s been a privilege today. We’ve been talking with Kathy Nimmer, taught high school English for 29 years, spent three years helping new teachers transition into the profession. Kathy, thank you for coming on the show and thank you for telling your story so openly and honestly. I believe that this will be a show that will help not only new teachers, but all of us teachers to understand that we need to truly see our students, but we also need to truly see each other. And you have helped us. I will say, I guess this is a pun, see that clearly, even in the struggle of your disability of blindness. This has been a beautiful show, and thank you for being part of it.

Kathy Nimmer (40:58): Thank you so much.

Announcer (40:59): Thank you for tuning in to the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast. Join us here every weekday and subscribe to the Classroom Matters newsletter. See you later, educator.