Jeffersonville High School theater teacher to study whales this summer

By TARA HETTINGER
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com

April 10, 2008 11:19 am

— As many dream of swimming with the dolphins, Jeffersonville High School teacher Patty Miller dreams of swimming with the whales.
“If I had the opportunity, I would,” she said, grinning.
Though she said she knows that isn’t possible because of safety issues, she will get to pursue her lifelong dream of studying whales hands-on, thanks to a grant by the Lilly Endowment.
Miller is one of 121 educators in the state chosen to receive the Teacher Creativity Grant, which is for $8,000.
Miller, who teaches theater and English, said she had wanted to apply for years, but never did because of the time involved in researching the details of what she would spend the money on. She also didn’t think she had a chance at winning.
“This past year, I had a rather significant birthday and it just became a sense of now or never,” she said. “I thought, ‘Why not?’ Whether or not I win, at least I would have tried.”
Miller, who did not want to specify the “significant” number, said when she received the letter from Lilly, she left it on the dining room table for hours.
“I knew it would either be really exciting or really disappointing,” she said. “Then I opened it about six hours later and I was just thrilled. I was ecstatic.”
In July, Miller will spend a month in a remote village about six hours northeast of Quebec City in Canada, where about 11 species of whales migrate every year. There she will serve as an intern, working with an international marine research facility, spending up to nine hours a day at sea.
Those working with her speak French, which Miller does not. So now she is working to learn the language before she sets off on her trip.
Sarah Empson, 18, is one of Miller’s students. She wrote one of the recommendation letters that helped Miller win the award.
“At first, I didn’t know what to think, because of the whole whale thing,” Empson said. “But then I realized it is really one of her passions.
“There’s no one else who deserves it more than she does.”
Miller’s students were shocked when they were told that their teacher won the award and plans to study whales.
“I think it’s good she wants to do something like that,” said Sarah Stubblefield, 15..
“I think it sounds like fun,” Darci Swafford, 15, said.
Since this will fulfill Miller’s childhood dream, she hopes to come back and have students write about their dreams. Then they will act it out and tape it to show incoming freshmen and others who need to be reminded of their own possibilities.
Through pursuing her dream, Miller hopes to have more than just a renewal in her passion for teaching. She hopes it will teach her to better understand the struggles others face.
“I feel like I’m going to be able to relate a lot better to my students who are struggling to learn new things,” she said, mentioning that she will not only be with strangers, but also not speaking her native language. “My biggest goal though is that I want to come back and speak to my classes about passion and possibilities and what we can do if we put our minds to it.”

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