Greenville High School principal Dr. Kathy Murphy addressed the Camellia City Civitan Club Monday to give them an idea of the demands facing educators. Murphy said the demands on teachers in public education have grown tremendously through the years. She said teachers wear many hats during the day and the role of educator is just a drop in the bucket.

&uot;Today’s society asks more of educators than ever before,&uot; Murphy said. &uot;We are required to be social workers, computer experts, juvenile officers, mediators, researchers, business partners, interdisciplinary team members and chemical dependency counselors.&uot;

Murphy said the span of what is being taught has also grown with the responsibilities.

&uot;We are asked to teach children how to drive, get along with others, balance a checkbook, make healthy choices, use new technology and read and write and do arithmetic,&uot; Murphy said. &uot;Society has a fairly big order for us. While those expectations are big we believe that Greenville High School does a great job of meeting and exceeding these expectations.&uot;

Murphy said there are several lessons they try to teach their students to use in their every day life. One of them is to aim high and never set limits on what they can achieve.

&uot;Lincoln was great not because he grew up in a log cabin, but because he was able to get out of it,&uot; Murphy said. &uot;A lot of the students at Greenville High School were born into poverty. A lot of them unfortunately were born into violence. Yet, what I want our students to understand is those students can rise above those situations and they can get out of the log cabin so to speak.&uot;

Murphy said because of the many different roles teachers play they must have more than just the training to be a teacher. Murphy said in order to be completely effective it is important for teachers to believe in what they are doing and an understanding of their student’s patterns.

&uot;We understand that good teaching comes not from behind a desk, but from behind the hearts of those teachers,&uot; Murphy said. &uot;We also understand that all students can learn and succeed, but not all on the same day and not all in the same way.&uot;

Murphy also stressed the idea of trying new things and expanding your horizons.

&uot;When you do what you’ve always done you get what you’ve always got and you’ll be where you’ve always been,&uot; Murphy said. &uot;You have to do things a little differently and get out of the rut.&uot;

Murphy was the guest of Civitan Vice President Susan Murphy. Susan said she chose Murphy to speak because of her dedication to Greenville and its youth.

&uot;One of the really nice things about Kathy is that she was born in Greenville and is a resident of Greenville,&uot; Susan said. &uot;I admire people that are born and raised in a small town that come back to that town to give back to that small town. She has done that and is planning on staying here. We’re glad to have her here as the principal of our high school.&uot;