By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

Cathy Nix is known among students at Rising Starr Middle School as a tough teacher, but she's only as hard on the kids as she is on herself.

Nix was recently recognized for her professionalism by USA Today, naming her to the All-USA Teacher Team.

Alumni of Nix's language arts classes know she will track down any suspect information that appears in a paper, calling them, if necessary, from the library for an explanation.

Nix may be a stickler for detail, but she is also creative and innovative in her approach to teaching writing skills.

“Cathy Nix has spent her entire professional career on a mission to make her students the best writers possible,” said Barbara Bakelaar, principal at Rising Starr.

“It is almost like a calling for Cathy, to ensure that every eighth grade student that she teaches knows how to write, not only fiction but expository writing as well,” Bakelaar added.

Ever modest in her acceptance of the USA Today honor, Nix said she draws her strength from her fellow teachers who make up her team. “Why am I good? The secret is my team.” She and her colleagues often cross the boundaries of their given subjects, with history becoming a part of language arts when the class studies the Gettysburg address, for instance.

Underlying all of Nix's teaching is the belief that “all people are good; all people have talents.” She refers to the quote by Anne Frank, “In spite of everything I still believe people are good at heart.”

Her ultimate goal is to direct students to realize individual self worth and potential. “By incorporating literature and writing, students are empowered to effectively communicate ideas,” she said. “Grammar lessons are integrated as a component of the writing process and the grammar book becomes another resource for making one's writing more expressive and addressing an audience more appropriately,” Nix added.

Nix has been teaching for 15 years, but with her long hair, preppy clothes and nonstop enthusiasm, she could easily be mistaken for a student-teacher. “I'm the luckiest person in the world,” she exclaimed, perched on a desk in her classroom. Teaching is what “makes me feel young; fires me up.”

The eighth grade course of study in Nix's language arts class is also a journey of self discovery. She starts with “The Circuit,” a story about a migrant worker who longs for an education. Discussions about minority issues give way to a theme of hope and the vision of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.

The year's study ends with a look at the Holocaust.

“The culmination of our year challenges students to choose their course of action and accept responsibility to create the America of our forefathers' dreams,” Nix said.

“Teaching is the most important job in our society, and I teach with the understanding that I create the future and my responsibility is to create good, caring and successful adults.”