High school Social Studies teacher Dane Weaver from Ten Sleep, Wyoming, has been named his state’s 2020 Teacher of the year.

I enjoy sharing stories about exceptional teachers who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Dane Weaver, a high school social studies teacher from Wyoming.

Dane teaches in Ten Sleep High School in the town of Ten Sleep. The school is part of Washakie County School District #2. The honoree has taught there for the past three years. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Dane serves his school as the advisor for the student council, as the Assistant Football Coach, and as a member of the building intervention team.

Prior to relocating to Ten Sleep, Dane taught in Jackson, Tennessee. There he taught social studies and served as a teacher coach. In that capacity, he assisted new and struggling teachers through teaching best practices in the classroom. For this work, Dane was recognized as the Teacher of the Year in Jackson Madison County in 2016.

The honored educator asserts that social studies is primarily about building critical thinking skills. “This has to be done through primary sources, digging through the content, looking at what people actually did. So my mode of education is a very active teacher.”

Dane had great models for this manner of teaching. As a youngster, Dane was raised in a household that valued education. His mother was the first woman to teach agriculture in the state of Tennessee. From her, Dane learned an appreciation for inspiring others through education.

Dane earned his Bachelor’s degree from Freed-Hardeman University, a private university located in Henderson, Tennessee. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Carson Newman College, a private liberal arts university located in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

To read more about Dane, see this link from the Wyoming State Department of Education.