I'm Susan Bunch and I'm the Program Director for the Mississippi Center for Education Innovation
in the areas of Teacher Quality and Student Achievement. I graduated from UT in 1974
in the College of Education. What a wonderful honor it is for me to be able to
tell my alma mater something nice about Dr. Lynn Cagle. Dr. Cagle is the
Associate Dean for Professional Licensure and the Director of the School for Education.
As an Early Childhood major in the '70s, Dr. Lynn Cagle not only taught me
how to be a teacher but he inspired me to be a teacher. Every Dr. Cagle
class was full of instructional tips and techniques and my instructional skills
grew more and more. But even more than that my heart for children grew more.
I began to see children through the eyes of Dr. Cagle and I knew I wanted
to live up to his expectations for his teachers and for the children that he loved so much.
From time to time in my professional career, maybe when I changed jobs or
through an accomplishment from kindergarten teacher to director of schools to
Assistant Commissioner of Education, I would drop Dr. Cagle a line, tell him
how much his influence was still a part of my life and always end
my notes with, "You're my favorite teacher in the whole wide world."
Throughout the years as I've changed jobs Dr. Cagle's influence still remains with me.
There's no job that I've ever done that Dr. Cagle's teachings, his inspiration,
or his love for children hasn't been a part of the decisions that I've made.
So at this time, I'm so glad to be a part of honoring him
as a special teacher on campus, and for one last time I'd like to
say: Dr. Cagle, you're my favorite teacher in the whole wide world.