Bad Links?
Other glitches?
Notify Webmaster

3 finalists named for county Teacher of the Year

Three different teachers, three different subjects, three different ways of teaching, and one common denominator: students say they make learning fun and that is why they deserve to be the 2005 Fayette County Teacher of the Year.

The Fayette County Teacher of the Year (TOTY) prize patrol made its rounds Jan. 26 to surprise the three finalists selected to vie for the honor of being the county's 2005 TOTY.

This year's finalists are Lisa Howe, Cleveland Elementary; Dawn Burnette, McIntosh High; and Paula O'Shields, Starr's Mill High.

Howe has worked in Fayette for two years teaching music and chorus at Cleveland Elementary. She has nearly 20 years of teaching experience at the high, middle and elementary levels. Howe said ever since preschool church choir, she knew she wanted to be a teacher.

"I cannot remember a time in my life when music and teaching were separated. In college I had to make a choice to perform alone or with a group [teach]. I chose the group because I could not imagine having all that music inside me and not sharing it with others,” said Howe.

When Howe landed her first teaching job at a middle school in Knoxville, Tenn., she said she was determined to share all she knew and loved. But reality hit rather quickly: not everyone shared her passion for music.

"It took me a few years to learn how to inspire others, but thankfully, I could draw on experiences from teachers in my past. I discovered how to combine my enthusiasm, passion and knowledge to become a highly effective teacher," said Howe.

She found ways to challenge her students while creating opportunities for success, she set clear and high goals to work steadily and mark and celebrate progress, and to connect learning to emotion, experiences and other subjects.

"Music is math, history, literature, science, foreign language and expression. It is not extracurricular, but every-curricular," Howe explained.

Although Howe is passionate about teaching music, she said teachers must care about the student before the subject matter.

"I find my passion has evolved from a passion for music alone, through a passion for teaching music, to a passion for the overall education of children. I believe my job is to nurture each child, music is simply the medium."

Burnette's education came full circle when she joined the faculty at McIntosh High 14 years ago.

The McIntosh graduate said she was going to be a journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of the McIntosh Trail newspaper; she was an editor for her college's newspaper and landed a job as a reporter with a local newspaper during her first summer home from college. Her career path was clear.

Halfway through her honors English class in college, classmates started asking her for help with writing. The next year when she took an advanced grammar class, she found herself serving as the class tutor. It was then that she realized her talents would be best utilized as a teacher.

"I found that I thoroughly enjoyed finding ways to help them [students] improve. I never wanted merely to correct their problems; I wanted to explain how they could correct problems themselves," said Burnette. "When students told me the concepts finally made sense, the feeling was one I couldn't ignore. There was no doubt in my mind that I was called to teach."

Burnette has touched the lives of millions of students even though she has never taught outside of Fayette County. She is the author of a very successful grammar book titled “Daily Grammar Practice.” Over the years, she observed that her own students struggled the most with grammar.

After learning that the national Council of Teachers of English had declared grammar instruction to be an ineffective waste of time, Burnette saw an opportunity to create a new method of grammar instruction that would be effective and unobtrusive.

The method is simple: students work with one sentence for a week at a time, analyzing that sentence further each day so that by the end of the week, they see how all the components of grammar connect together. Sentences get increasingly difficult each week and new concepts are added a few at a time.

Burnette published “Daily Grammar Practice” for grades 1-12 in 2004. She has since added a college-level program and a book of writing strategies to the collection.

"Since its publication, the book has helped students in 41 states and six foreign countries to improve in an area of language arts that has daunted them for years. As its influence continues to grow, it pleases me greatly to know that my work is impacting millions of students whom I have never even met," said Burnette.

O'Shields has come a long way as a teacher from her first classroom of baby dolls and teddy bears. She still checks attendance, passes out papers and circulates among her students' desks to help solve problems, but now she is doing more than teaching, she is reaching out to provide a welcome place for teenagers to learn and become successful.

"I think I have had a chalkboard and grade book almost my entire life," said O'Shields.

Surrounded by friends and family who were teachers, she saw how their roles enabled them to reach out and serve others. Her desire to work at the secondary level developed during high school. She gives credit to two teachers, one who exemplified what a good teacher is and the other who demonstrated what one is not.

The first teacher, whom O'Shields prefers not to name, presented material in a monotone voice, did not welcome questions and stirred thoughts in her head that she could not do math.

Fortunately, another teacher, Lynn Brinson, followed. She showed O'Shields she could do math, it could be fun, and most importantly, that teachers do care about and have an interest in the well-being of their students.

"You felt welcome in her class and she was able to instill desire in each of her students to work and do their best. I chose to become a math teacher because the world needed more Mrs. Brinsons, and I knew I could be one. She is still the teacher I desire to be," said O'Shields.

Working with teenagers can be challenging but O'Shields said the key is getting into their heads, relating to their interests and sometimes tricking them into learning. Some of her favorite contributions to education include two math raps that came to her over several sleepless nights and the "Geometurkey" coloring activity she developed and uses around Thanksgiving.

"It is important to remember that no matter what age they may be, students will always learn best when some sort of fun is involved. And no matter what their size, it is important to remember that they are still kids at heart — just like good teachers," she said.

O'Shields' math raps and Geometurkey have been used to train other teachers throughout Fayette and the state. She said she feels accomplished when other teachers come to her for ideas, when the county invites her to rewrite curriculums as they have many times and when her teaching inventions are being used by teachers throughout Georgia.

"These accomplishments suggest that others must see in me the teacher that I strive to be. I think Mrs. Brinson would be proud.”

The three finalists were selected from 29 teachers of the year representing each school. The faculty at each school selects their teacher of the year who then goes through an application process similar to the one used for the Georgia Teacher of the Year program.

A group of independent judges made up of community leaders and retired educators read the applications and choose three finalists.

The judges will observe the three finalists in their classrooms as well as conduct face-to-face interviews with each teacher. The highest scoring finalist will be named Fayette's 2005 TOTY during a special recognition program April 21. The winner will automatically compete for the 2006 Georgia TOTY title next spring.