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Mother, son become National Board Certified Teachers in same year
Posted: 1/27/2010 2:44:43 PM
This school year, Eau Claire educator Nick Sirek became a National Board Certified Teacher in his first year of eligibility. At the same time his mother, Rice Lake teacher Deb Sirek, gained her certification, and for her it was during a time close to retirement.
While at different spots on their career paths, both were granted certification in their first try, and both did it for the same reason: personal motivation. The process to become a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) shows that dedication for the teaching profession and the desire to be the best you can be for our state’s students shows no regard for how young you are or how long you’ve been teaching.
Save for one year in which she went back to school to get recertified, Deb Sirek has been teaching since 1974. And nearly two years ago, when Nick – inspired by a colleague – told her he was thinking of applying for NBCT status, she took the leap as well.
Deb had put off applying while raising her children but now that one of her kids was doing it, she had no excuse.
“I thought if a young person can do it, let’s see if the old person can do it,” Deb said with a laugh.
Both Nick and Deb were motivated by their own goals as well as what they could share with others. Nick, a fourth-grade teacher at Eau Claire’s Sherman Elementary School, saw the move as way to confirm his teaching method and that he was making a difference in the classroom.
“One of the greatest benefits of certification is the personal motivation and growth,” Nick said. “As a new teacher, I felt like ‘What do I know? Am I doing any good? Am I any good at what I do?’
“By going through the National Board process, I was able to see the evidence of my work,” Nick continued. “I was able to prove to myself that what I am doing in my classroom works and is effective.”
Deb, a kindergarten teacher at Hilltop Elementary School in Rice Lake, said successfully applying to be a National Board Certified Teacher shows the student teachers she mentors and her own children how to accomplish a goal and a project.
“It’s a good model for them,” she said, “not to shy away from things that are difficult, to encourage them to take a risk and to go for excellence.”
Nick became certified as a middle childhood generalist; Deb got her certification as an early childhood generalist.
Mother and son leaned on each other during the vigorous application process. They worked, separately, nearly every night on paperwork, submitted videos of their teaching and took an exam during the NBCT process. But they commiserated – and celebrated – together.
“We could talk about the process and bounce ideas off each other,” Nick said. “We could show our work to each other and get ideas of how to improve it and where we maybe needed to make changes. I think everyone working on their National Boards needs to have some kind of support system. Even if you’re working on them by yourself, you need someone who can read your work and provide some kind of feedback.”
Added Deb: “Whatever the work was, it was better knowing we both were doing it.”
