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  Teacher of the Year to be named Tuesday night from field of nine web posted September 1, 2008 COUNTY – The Edgefield County School District Teacher of the Year will be announced tomorrow night at the Fifth Annual Citizen of the Year and Teacher of the Year Banquet held at 6:30 pm at the Pine Ridge Country Club. The event is sponsored by The Edgefield County Chamber of Commerce and the Edgefield County School District - and with nine outstanding candidates for Teacher of the Year, judges had thier work cut out for them. The judging process of the nine candidates for District Teacher of the Year ended Thursday afternoon following the interview segment. Judges for both the written portfolio and interview categories left “in a stew” as all nine candidates are perfect representatives for the district title. Only one candidate can be submitted to the state for representation in the State Teacher of the Year Program. The nine candidates prepared portfolios with answers to three categories: Professional Biography – What were the factors that influenced you to become a teacher and describe what you consider to be your greatest contributions and accomplishments in education. Philosophy of Teaching – Describe your personal feelings and beliefs about teaching, including your own ideas of what makes you an outstanding teacher. Describe the rewards you find in teaching and how are your beliefs about teaching demonstrated in your personal teaching style? The Teaching Profession: What do you do to strengthen and improve the teaching profession and what is and/or what should be the basis for accountability in the teaching profession? Candidates for the 2008 title of Edgefield County School District Teacher of the Year are: Melissa Mims – Douglas Elementary School: Mrs. Mims is a Special Education teacher. She has seven and one half years of experience. “There are endless rewards in teaching, if you have the passion for it. It should not be a profession that you take lightly, nor should you expect to get rich,” said Mrs. Mims and continued, “The main reward that I gain from teaching is fulfillment at the end of each day because I have helped the life of another person. It is the love that I get and give each day that makes me want to continue in the teaching profession and that is all the reward that I need when the day is done.” Donna Black – Johnston Elementary School: Mrs. Black is an Art and Gifted and Talented teacher. She has thirty-two years experience. “Art is a curriculum that not only encourages creativity, but provides opportunities for continual learning and growth In my class, the study of art and the making of art inspire learning and perseverance,” said Mrs. Black and continued, “I inspire and motivate my students to seek more by showing them the beauty found in learning about art, by reading about art, seeing art, noticing art in their world, and making art with many hands-on activities. I am the guide that allows their natural curiosity and joy for learning about art to direct their learning.” Patricia Bowen – Merriwether Elementary School: Mrs. Bowen has been the Merriwether Elementary School music teacher for the past six years. She has a total of eight years teaching experience. Mrs. Bowen stated, “Teaching in the classroom for the past eight years has provided me with rewards too numerous to measure. Every day is a new learning experience and in order to succeed in the classroom, I must view it as a learning opportunity for my students as well as myself. Doing what I can to help others be their best is perhaps my greatest contribution to education. I do not measure my accomplishments by the degrees I have earned or the things that I possess, but by the thrill of being with a student as he/she discovers and masters new skills for the first time. There is no greater joy!” Mrs. Genna Covar – W. E. Parker Elementary School: Mrs. Covar teaches Reading in the Title I program for grades 1-5 at W.E. Parker Elementary. She has been in this position for 23 of her 25 years of teaching. “My personal feelings and beliefs about teaching are that you’ve got to love it! A good teacher has passion for what he or she teaches and is energetic about getting the students to understand the information,” said Mrs. Covar. She bases her philosophy of teaching on three major points. “First, the teacher must have a love for learning. Secondly, a teacher must love what he or she is teaching as well as the students and thirdly, I believe a teacher must be willing to devote extra time and energy into planning and tutoring.” She said and concluded, “My beliefs about teaching are demonstrated in my personal teaching style by being excited about learning whether it pertains to me or my students, genuinely loving my students by being patient with them and treating them with respect in all situations, and devoting extra time and energy into planning my curriculum and tutoring.” Ms. Debbie Courtney – Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle School: Ms Courtney has been teaching 7th grade math at JET Middle School for thirteen years. She has a total of eighteen years teaching experience. “Learning how to teach the student, not just to teach the subject is among my greatest educational accomplishments. It has been my desire to teach children to understand and love math. However, I have sought diligently to go beyond the subject matter to teach children to make good decisions, to respect themselves and others, and to use the coping skills that are necessary to be successful in life. Students must understand that if they are not successful coming up with the answers one way, that they are to question, to problem solve, and to explore others methods. However, accepting failure without learning from it is not an options in my classroom,” said Ms. Courtney and in her summation she state, “I believe that-My love for children + My love for math +my love for teaching = SUCCESS.” Mrs. Carolyn Wright – Merriwether Middle School: Mrs. Wright is a 7th grade Reading and Language Arts teacher at Merriwether Middle School. She has four years teaching experience, two of those years being at Merriwether Middle. “I have had many positive experiences in the teaching profession and have grown immensely as an educator in the past few years. Previous learning experiences, along with my personal feelings and beliefs about teaching, guide me on a day-to-day basis. Following my heart, teaching to the best of my ability, and feeling valued by my students is rewarding in and of itself,” Mrs. Wright said. She continued in her proposal to address the importance of “believing” in your students by stating, “Once a child knows that you care about him as a person, he will more likely strive to be a good student. Their confidence is important to me, therefore; I take time to tell them how proud I am of their successes – even the little ones.” Mrs. Misti Padgett – Strom Thurmond High School: Mrs. Padgett has been teaching 9th and 10th grade Mathematics all of eleven years experience at STHS. “A child is molded and unfolded by four major forces – home, church, society and school,” Mrs. Padgett stated and continued, “As a teacher, I have the opportunity to influence a student in a positive way – helping him or her to experience education as a means of opening up a new world just waiting to be explored. Influence on a single student is an influence on all of society. There exist many components under the job title of teacher. Mother, nurse, care giver, referee and disciplinarian are just a few of those components. In order to make teaching successful, one must be aware of students’ feelings. Nothing is more rewarding to a teacher than having smiling, happy students who are eager to learn.” Mrs. Jean Vess – Strom Thurmond Career Center: Mrs. Vess teaches 9th-12th grade Business Education. She has eight years teaching experience. “My greatest reward as a teacher is to see the light of understanding and enthusiasm for learning in a student’s face. This happens most often when the teacher, parents, and the student work together towards one goal of success. Students that have developed good work skills and values at home usually come to class ready to learn,” said Mrs. Vess and continued, “They already understand the significance of the power of knowledge. They are ready to accept and use the information that is presented in the classroom. When this is not possible, the teacher must be the facilitator of these values to the student. This is the challenge that I accept as a teacher, realizing that students who for whatever reasons have not accepted these values, need my help more so to develop as successful citizens.” Ms. Cynthia Smith –Fox Creek High School: Ms. Smith teaches 9-12 mathematics at Fox Creek High School. She has fourteen years of teaching experience. “I believe that each student is my customer. I guess coming from a retail background has inspired that belief. If I’m not “selling” what the student wants, then they aren’t “buying” it. I have the gift to make math, especially algebra, interesting and appealing. I often use real world situations – drawing on my background in retail – to explain problems to the students. If you can show the student real life relevance and what it can do for them, then you have conquered their apathy, which is half the battle,” she said and continued, “My rewards in teaching come at those “aha” moments when the student truly understands WHY – not because they memorized the formula and can compute it 50 times, but that they know where the formula comes from and “why” it works. That is “WHY” I teach!” ©
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