Oklahoma Teacher of the Year: Why He Would Leave Job He Loves

Shawn Sheehan admits it: he is a math nerd. He loves math, and loves teaching it to 9th graders at Norman High School outside Oklahoma City. Sheehan is Oklahoma’s Teacher of the Year, and has spent the last year visiting schools all over the state. This top teacher says he saw schools struggling to make do; reduced budgets have led to overcrowded classrooms, teacher layoffs and in some districts, four day school weeks. So Sheehan has joined dozens of other educators running for the Oklahoma legislature, hoping to boost education funding in the state. He explains why he is willing to leave the job he loves.