Meet educator Jordanna Maga, 2019 Teacher of the Year, American Samoa

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Meet educator Jordanna Maga, the 2019 Teacher of the Year for american Samoa. Teaching has helped her to realize that young adult and adolescents respond with enthusiasm and excitement to activities that they are familiar with. One of her students requested to do a video presentation instead of standing up and talking to his classmates. By allowing the student to showcase a video, this chalkboard champion allowed him to show his skills in other areas, especially technology. Jordanna says that this experience changed the way she does things in the classroom. She gives the students freedom to present in their preferred avenue to show that they understand the lesson. Watch this short You Tube video below to learn more:

How Chalkboard Champions Contribute to Our Democracy

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As we celebrate the birth of our country today, I am reminded of the role our nation’s many chalkboard champions have played throughout history to preserve and perpetuate the freedoms we all enjoy.

Classroom educators teach our children about our nation’s rich heritage, our history, and our system of government. They lead children in the creation of hand-traced turkeys at Thanksgiving, teach them the words and music to our patriotic songs, design lessons about the accomplishments of our presidents and social reformers such as political activist Martin Luther King and labor leader Cesar Chavez, remind students of the contributions of our veterans, and organize patriotic festivities throughout the year. Our teachers even educate our kids about our failures so that we can become a better democracy.

And let’s not forget that many of our nation’s courageous teachers have become, themselves, a part of our country’s historical record. There are many fine examples. Think of Olive Mann Isbell, the Ohio teacher who was one of many pioneers who established a school in the Wild West frontier, or Christa McAuliffe, the New Hampshire history teacher who became the first educator in space. Think of Henry Alvin Cameron, the Tennessee science teacher who sacrificed his life for freedom in the WWI Battle of the Argonne Forest; or Robert Parris Moses, the New York City math teacher who played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s. Think of Carrie Chapman Catt, the Iowa teacher who dedicated her life to earning the right to vote for women, and Zitkala-Sa, the South Dakota teacher who worked to secure the vote for Native Americans.

From sea to shining sea, there are thousands of teachers in our nation’s history who have made contributions to our society in large ways or quiet ways as veterans, activists, and supporters of our democracy. We thank them all for the freedoms we celebrate today.

You can read about some of these heroic teachers in my first book, Chalkboard Champions, or in my second book, Chalkboard Heroes, both available on amazon.

Richard Knoeppel: Recent inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Richard Knoeppel: Stellar Las Vegas Career and Technical Education teacher and recent inductee into the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

There are many fine classroom educators who have been singled out for special recognition. One of these is computer technology teacher Richard Knoeppel of Las Vegas, Nevada, who was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame earlier this month.

Richard earned his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Arts Education in 1967 from University of New York at Oswego. He earned his Master’s degree from the same institution the next year. In 2008, he earned an Advanced Studies Certificate from Southern Utah University.

Richard inaugurated his career in the classroom at Northport High School in New York, where he taught Drafting and vocational courses in auto shop and metal shop. From 1991 to 1994, he taught  Career and Technical Education at J. Taylor Finley Junior High School, also in New York. He spent the school year of 1994-1995 teaching Career and Technical Education to students grades six through eight at Robison Middle School. In 1995, Richard accepted a position as an instructor at Technologies Academy in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he has been teaching courses in architecture. In all, this stellar educator’s career has spanned 31 years.

Today, Richard is a teacher-leader at A-Tech. He serves as the Career and Technical Education Department Chair. He is also a member of the Nevada STEM Advisory Council.

For his work in the classroom, Richard has earned many accolades. In 2007, he was named to the Clark county School District Excellence in Education Hall of Fame. In 2014, he garnered Teacher of the Year honors at Magnet Schools of America, Region VIII. In 2017, he was honored as the Nevada State Teacher of the Year.

“As a Career and Technical Education Teacher, I firmly believe that I need to provide my students with the knowledge and skills they will need to thrive in the future,” declares Richard. “I want to provide them with the ability to be successful in jobs and careers that haven’t been thought of yet,” he says.

Top-notch tour guides and exceptional teachers: the traits they share

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With summer vacation finally here for most educators, many of us begin to think about how to spend our much-longed for and richly-deserved free time. For many of us, summer offers a great opportunity for travel. I have had the good fortune to make several tours overseas. Each time it was my good fortune to meet very knowledgeable and capable tour guides. It occurred to me that many traits that make a top-notch tour guide are the same traits that make an exceptional teacher.

First, and probably most importantly, the tour guide must be likable. It’s imperative to be warm and friendly, because it’s just human nature to respond more positively to someone you like. Both the tour guide and the teacher are more successful if they set a relaxed tone right away. They let it be known they are approachable, they are glad to see you, and they are excited to share a part of their day with you. I think sometimes we educators forget how important this quality is to success in the classroom. Tourists will generally attempt to find something of value in the tour guide’s speech, whether the speaker is likable or not, but students won’t always make the effort to bridge that gap.

Secondly, it’s imperative that the tour guide be well-versed in their subject matter. Like the classroom teacher, the tour guide must do their homework! Know your stuff! Furthermore, it’s important to be able to communicate the information in language that’s easy to comprehend. Deliver the material clearly and distinctly, at a suitable volume, using appropriate vocabulary levels, and creating a logical sequence and progression of ideas. If your group can’t hear you or can’t get past your heavy Italian accent, or they don’t believe what you’re saying to them, before long they will meander away to take photos of what appeals to their eye. Sadly, when this happens, they often having no idea what it is they’re taking pictures of.

Thirdly, it’s crucial for both the tour guide and the teacher to be flexible. Things happen! When you find the Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel without any notice, when laborers stage an unexpected shut-down of the metro services, or when you arrive at the funicular only to find it out of order, the tour guide can find their lesson plan for the day derailed. When that happens, the tour guide must extemporaneously construct a workable Plan B. After all, promises have been made that must be kept. Sometimes, like when you’re surprised by a political protest at Piccadilly Circus which blocks your path to your tour bus, you just have to wait it out. You may be half an hour behind schedule, but eventually you’ll be back on track. Excellent teachers and first-rate tour guides are especially adept at reorganizing on the spot.

I have to say, during my travels I have had the good fortune to have really terrific tour guides everywhere that I have gone. I hope that your summer vacation, wherever you travel, is as fabulous as mine have been.