Benavides named 2022 Texas State Teacher of the Year

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High school STEM teacher Ramon Benavides of El Paso, Texas, has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Ramon Benavides

I always enjoy sharing stories about exemplary educators who have won honors for their work in the classroom. One of these is Ramon Benavides, a high school STEM teacher from El Paso, Texas, who has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

Ramon teaches Biology and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) courses at Del Valle High School in the Ysleta Independent School District. His career there has spanned 12 years.

It is amazing that Ramon made his way into the classroom. He is the son of migrant farmworkers who were forced to drop out of school at a young age to help support their family. Later, Ramon saw his parents return to school, earn their diplomas and become teachers themselves. He took his cue from them.

Ramon says his work as an educator isn’t about the teaching, it’s about the positive exchanges. “The kids are the best part of my job, by far,” he says. “One of my greatest joys is getting to stand outside my classroom and as my kids come in we exchange that smile, and for that split second we know that everything is okay,” he continues.

The honored educator earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Texas, San Antonio, in 2001, and a second Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Texas, Brownsville, in 2003. He completed the requirements for his Master’s degree in Teaching Science at University of Texas, El Paso, in 2016. He is currently working on his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Texas Tech University, Lubbock.

Congratulations, Ramon!

Maryland educator Anne Coleman Chambers created innovative curriculum

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Dedicated educator Anne Coleman Chambers taught in public schools in Maryland before establishing her own school, the Indian Creek School, which offered an innovative curriculum. Photo credit: Pasadena Voice.

Many dedicated educators work hard to provide enhanced learning opportunities and innovative curriculum for students in their communities. One of these is Anne Coleman Chambers, a public school teacher from Maryland who founded a highly successfully private day school in her community.

Anne was born in 1940, although she was raised in Colesville. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Once she graduated from college, she taught in public schools in Prince George’s County in her home state until 1963.

Anne believed strongly that every student should be provided stimulating educational experiences in a small, nurturing environment in which each student is known and approached as an individual. To create this environment, she founded Indian Creek School, a co-educational Pre-K through grade 12 private school in Crownsville in 1973. Indian Creek School opened its doors in with 33 students in Pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade. Four years later, she opened a middle school that doubled its capacity, and in 2006 she added an upper school.

Anne built a curriculum for her students that offered not only a broad-based education emphasizing the fundamentals, but also stressed the importance of music, art, physical education, drama, clubs, and sports.  She included Spanish, computers, and human development instruction at a time when many schools didn’t offer those as subjects for older students, let alone for kindergartners. In addition, Anne was steadfast in her insistence that her school be a diverse and inclusive community from the start. Anne served as the school’s first Director from its founding until 2010, when she went back to the classroom to teach for one last year before she retired in 2011.

Anne Coleman Chambers passed away on Oct. 12, 2020, in Hagerstown, Maryland. She was 80 years old. She was a true Chalkboard Champion.

 

Virginia sharecropper’s daughter becomes teacher and community icon

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Virginia sharecropper’s daughter Margaret Hill rose to become a teacher, administrator, and school board member. She was considered an icon in her Southern California community. Photo credit: Precinct Reporter group.

There are many examples of fine educators who have risen from poverty to make a significant community to their community. One of these was Margaret Hill, a teacher, administrator, and school board member who was considered an icon in her Southern California community.

Margaret was born in Virginia, the daughter of an African American sharecropper. Even as a young child, her life on the farm was busy. Before starting school, she worked in the fields with her father. She got up early every morning, even on weekends, to feed chickens and slop hogs. She picked cotton in the hot sun, even on holidays. In her school years, she studied late into the night, often by candlelight. Margaret said that back then, in the days of segregation and coming out of the Depression, education took a back seat to farm work for most Black children. She said they all had to make a contribution to help keep the family from starving.

But Margaret always knew the value of education. Eventually, she earned her Bachelor’s degree at Norfolk State University and, after relocating to California in 1969, she earned her Master’s degree in Educational Administration from California State University, San Bernardino. Later, the inspirational educator was awarded an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

Margaret inaugurated her teaching career in 1971 at San Bernardino High School in San Bernardino. Later she served as an Assistant Principal at the school, and then she was promoted to principal of San Andreas High School, a position she held for the last sixteen years of her career. Margaret retired in 2003. But in 2011, Margaret came out of retirement when she was elected to the San Bernardino City Unified Board of Education.

Throughout her career, Margaret earned the admiration of her fellow educators. “She was a North Star for the San Bernardino community reading race relation issues,” remarked colleague Herbert Fischer. He noted that Margaret achieved great success dealing with foster kids, and students suffering from poverty and homelessness. She even earned the nickname “Mother Hill” in the education community.

In addition to her professional responsibilities, Margaret served as a member of the Black Culture Foundation and the San Bernardino African American Committee. She also was a member of the Highland Woman’s Club, the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation, the Time for Change Foundation, the Sheriff’s Department Information Exchange Committee, Kiwanis of Greater San Bernardino, and the San Bernardino Police Department Citizen Advisory Group.

Margaret was also an author. She authored two children’s books. Her first book, It’s All about the Children, was published in 2011. Her second book, From Sharecropping to Non-Stopping: Reflections on Life from A Veteran Educator, was published in 2015. She also penned a weekly column about education for her local newspaper, The Sun.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in on December 19, 2021. She was 81 years old.

 

New Year’s Resolutions for Teachers!

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As a New Year is on the horizon, it’s time to think about making some New Year’s Resolutions for your classroom. Resolutions for your classroom are goals you make for yourself as an educator. I’d like to keep it simple, and choose just three.

1: Take Time for Self-Care

You will be in the best position to provide care for your students if you first take care of yourself. Make a commitment to decrease your workload through more efficient planning, by taking a moment each day or at least each week to appreciate what is going well, and strive to find a better balance between your work life and your personal life.

2: Increase Efforts to Reach Out to Students

Increasing your efforts to reach out to students should be on the list of goals for any educator, not only for New Year’s, but every day you walk into your classroom. Take time to remember that relationships are at the heart of any teaching program. You’ll be richly rewarded for any effort you make to connect with students.

3: Try Something New

Trying something new, creative, and innovative periodically is very stimulating. It’s important to avoid getting stuck in a rut. If you haven’t tried anything new for a while, now is the perfect time. Create a new lesson for a concept you have taught many times before, or integrate a new technology tool into your curriculum. Read a book about pedagogy for your subject area, do some research, or take a free online course. Whatever you choose, always strive to better yourself and your instruction.

Incorporating these three strategies into your New Year’s instructional practicers will very likely result in a more productive and rewarding year for yourself, and for your students. Give them a try!