| Three WEAC members were named Wednesday (October 13, 2004) to
the USA Today Teacher Team. They are Sandy Swanson from Menomonee Falls High School,
Mark Mueller from Stoughton High School, and Deb Tackmann from
Eau Claire North High School. They are among 20 K-12 teachers selected for the honor nationwide.
All 20 receive trophies and $500 cash awards, with $2,000 going
to their schools. They will be featured in USA TODAY throughout
the school year. Winning teachers were chosen by education professionals in a
two-step judging process. Judges considered how well the teachers
defined and addressed student needs, and most importantly, the
impact teachers have on students. "We're pleased to honor these remarkable teachers who enhance
education with initiative, enthusiasm and insight. They make a
real difference for their students, schools and communities,"
said USA TODAY Editor Ken Paulson. In articles that ran in the October 13 issue, USA Today summarized
the special contributions of each winner. Following are the paper's
descriptions of the WEAC members who were honored. Sandy Swanson. Menomonee Falls (Wis.) High School; food
service/school to work, grades 11-12; years full-time teaching:
31. Nominated by: Jennifer Tarcin, colleague She: Initiated the food service classes, school to work,
and youth apprenticeship programs, allowing hundreds of students
to graduate with credit from Waukesha County Technical College
on their transcripts. Relies on imaginative projects — contests
for gingerbread houses or inventing an original soup or creating
a vacation tour for Milwaukee visitors — to draw students
into energetically mastering crucial working skills. "No
one needs to know how to make a crème puff swan, it's just
something nice to know. But in making a swan, you need to learn
time management, reading, teamwork, equipment operation and sanitation.
So I teach the 'need to know' things through the 'nice to know'
things." Developed and runs Waukesha County Culinary Olympics,
to inspire students in food services to excellence through a 16
high school competition; her students have won the team award
since the second one, in 1977. "Students perform better on
class assignments when they know someone from the outside is evaluating
them and when they know that they are competing to be the best."
Oversees eight youth apprentices in two-year training programs
and 100 students in afternoon jobs as diverse as law offices to
a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine-assembly plant. Sports fan
who devotes many evenings to managing games and meets for school's
athletic teams. Connects one-on-one with students, because "everything
I say in the classroom is interpreted by 25 different brains.
Students hear what is said with their personal history attached." Mark Mueller. River Bluff Middle School, Stoughton, Wis.;
language arts, grade 8, and at-risk mentor; years full-time teaching:
11. Nominated by: Stacy Brzezinski, colleague He: Got hooked on teaching young teens while still in
high school, teaching religious education at his church and, later,
working 10 years as a camp counselor. "Everything I need
to know about classroom management I learned in the mud and the
muck of a Y camp. Appeal to kids at their level, show them respect,
and they will do anything for you," said the third-generation
educator. Coaches high school drama and forensics and middle-school
track to encourage the arts, lifelong exercise and to connect
with kids outside the classroom. Teaches American literature for
the Wisconsin Virtual School, working at least an hour a day online,
grading, coaching and critiquing the work of dropouts, imprisoned
youth and accelerated students who take their coursework online.
Coached six students creating an award-winning public service
campaign combating teen pregnancy; testified to Congress and government
officials on service-learning, combining curriculum with meeting
community needs. Developed, co-authored and published interdisciplinary
units: "Intergalactic Transmission" curriculum challenges
students to respond to a message from outer space, using science,
language arts and literary skills; "Forensic Science"
unit turns his block of students into crime-solving detectives
using skills in science, math, language arts and social studies.
"I'm interested in all forms of communication — essays,
scripts, stories, plays, Web sites, debates, advertising. The
underlying skill is the ability to express ideas well. Writing,
communication and logical thought are the keys to opening up their
future." Deborah Tackmann. North High School, Eau Claire, Wis.;
health, grades 9-12 ; years full-time teaching: 28 Nominated by: David Wiley, colleague She: Sees her class, and life, as all about making choices
and getting students the information to see different options
and make informed choices. "I don't give them the answers,
I give them the questions, and then we do activities that help
them find the answers." Bypasses worksheets, textbooks and
especially lectures, teaching sex education through dice and other
games of chance that let teens draw their own conclusions on abstinence
and birth control based on probability of pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases. Builds relationships with every student
— "You can't teach them until they know you care"
— but works even harder to build positive student peer relationships:
"They're going to be the ones at a party saying, 'You know,
Mike, I don't think you should be driving.' " "She makes
us all feel we can be comfortable in class and comfortable to
say what we feel," said Ashleigh Kalish, 14. Draws on her
own experience as a military brat who moved frequently to empathize
with teens who feel disconnected. Worked with teens in 1990 to
stage pre-prom mock car crash that's an annual North High tradition;
"Arrive Alive" peer education program to discourage
drunken driving has spread to multiple states. Helped expand district
health offerings from one 9th-grade semester in 1985 to several
required and elective middle school health classes, plus an elective
upper class wellness class. "Deb builds a real camaraderie,
an esprit de corps, almost a sense of teamwork in her classes,"
principal Tom Fiedler said. "She does that masterfully, allowing
kids to have a heightened learning experience."
USA
Today's coverage Posted October 14, 2004 |