Teacher Feature: Marietta’s Thurman teaches English language learners
New to Marietta this year, but not new to teaching is Randy Thurman. Thurman is a
1999 graduate of Ringling. The Detroit Tigers drafted him out of high school, but after
two shoulder surgeries, he said goodbye to his baseball career and hello to college.
Thurman earned his bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University in Wichita
Falls, Texas, where he majored in Spanish and became certified to teach English
Language Learners.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do after college, so I worked for the Social Security
Administration for two years,” Thurman said. “I was not cut out for office and cubicle-
type work. I decided to give teaching a try, and 17 years later, I’m still here.”
Choosing to teach ELL students was more of a process than an epiphany. It began with
him attending college for a semester in Mexico.
“I loved the culture and the language,” he explained. “After college, I had several
manual labor jobs working alongside people from several different countries who spoke
Spanish, and I picked it up quickly.”
Thurman chose to teach ELL because he wanted to work with Spanish-speaking people
who are learning English. As they advance in the multiple language stages, students
are enabled to have success in school and real life.
Last August, Thurman began teaching middle and high school ELL at Marietta and has
earned the love and appreciation of his students, colleagues, and administrators in a
brief time.
“Mr. Thurman is awesome,” said Middle School Principal Carrie Tucker. “Being a dual
language speaker allows him to communicate and build relationships with students
while also being an advocate for them. He has stepped right in this first year and done
an amazing job!"
There are several things that Thurman enjoys about teaching ELL, for one, the smaller
class size.
“Teaching ELL is a more intimate setting than the mainstream classroom with 25 or 30
students,” he said. “ELL classes are small, with a lot of individual and small group
instruction, so you really get a chance to know the students and their background. Many
of our students have incredible stories of how they arrived in the US.”
But, as with any job, there are also tough parts. One is that, due to the numbers of
middle and high school students who need services, Thurman feels spread thin.
“I have a wonderful aide, Mrs. Olivia Carmona. She is great with the students, and there
is no way I could do my job without her,” stated Thurman. “I also give a lot of credit to
Stacy Scarborough, who runs the elementary ELL program. She is an exemplary
teacher. Maverick McClendon, our coordinator, is great as well. He goes above and
beyond for students and teachers.”
Thurman believes that the school district’s ELL program is good and still improving.
“From top to bottom, I think our ELL program is doing many good things and we plan to
continue to get better,” he said.
“I know there have been some negative things said about the district lately,” he said. “I
can assure you that Marietta is a great place to work. I have been treated very well by
both staff and administration, and I plan to stay for years to come.”