What does it take to win the Texas Teacher of the Year award?

ABC-7 first reported Monday that Jefferson High School teacher John Gable was named a finalist for one of the state’s biggest honors, Texas Teacher of the Year. Gable will compete against five others for the award.

To get here, Gable had to first be nominated by Jefferson High, then El Paso ISD had to name him best teacher, then Region 19 named him Teacher of the Year for the entire county. Then the Texas Association of School Administrators plucked Gable and five others from a list of 40, giving him the chance to be the best teacher in the state.

“I can’t believe this,” Gable said. “It’s amazing, amazing. I never thought I’d be at this position. But I just love what I do, I love what I do. As a teacher I just love what I do, I have a passion for these kids and I want to be their advocate for them.”

The award honors educators Texas considers outstanding and inspiring. To win it, Gable must impress a panel of judges in Austin.

“That’s kind of a nerve-wracking experience,” said El Paso Teacher’s Association President Norma De La Rosa. “I was never given the questions so when I went into interview it was a cold interview. I didn’t know what to expect.”

De La Rosa has been through Region 19 interviews herself. She said the panel will ask Gable big theoretical questions, such as how would you represent 350,000 Texas teachers? And what should education be?But what judges are really looking for are how you relate,” Gable said.

A homeless student, Gable attended school by day, and searched for a place to sleep at night, sometimes settling for a stranger’s backyard.

“Going to school and falling asleep on the desk — and teachers slamming the book on the desk trying to startle me,” Gable said. “Of course I got into trouble and got kicked out of school because they didn’t ask me, why are you falling asleep in class. But now I’ve been there, and when I see those kids I can have that passion, not that sympathy, but now I can empathize with them.”

De La Rosa advises Gable to just be himself and let his passion flow through his answers.

“What makes a great teacher?” Gable said during a Region 19 interview. “A great teacher gears their lessons not to their class but to their students that are in their class.”

Gable will go to Austin in October to interview with the judges. They will announce their winner Oct. 16.