Congratulations to Paul Timm, a science educator from Lyons, Nebraska, who has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: AgUpdate.
Congratulations go out to Paul Timm, a science educator from Lyons, Nebraska. Paul has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.
Paul currently works at Lyons-Decatur Northeast Secondary School in Lyons. The school is located about 70 miles northwest of Omaha. There he teaches biology, agriculture education, and health science for grades 7 through 12. Throughout his 17-year career, he has taught 18 different courses, including AP Biology, a science research course, Earth and space science, and welding and agricultural mechanics. In addition, Paul has taught a leadership class, sponsored his school’s Quiz Bowl, advised the National Honor Society on his campus. As if all this were not enough, Paul has also coached cross county and track and field. His cross country teams have earned four conference championships and five state qualifications.
Paul says he views learning as an entrepreneurial venture. Students are not just employees at the job, he believes, but business owners building an enterprise of learning with passion, personal choice, and full ownership. “I begin by fostering a culture which promotes curiosity and questions, sharing of ideas, celebrating successes, and willingness to learn from failures,” explains Paul. “Project- and inquiry-based learning drives education to the highest levels while extending the learning environment beyond the classroom and providing student choice,” he declares. Using this philosophy, Paul strives to prepare his students for life outside school.
Paul earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education and his Master’s degree in Entomology, both from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is also a National Geographic Certified Educator, a 2020 Advocate for the Society for Science and the Public, and a 2017 Nebraska Finalist for the Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teaching.
To read more about Paul Timm, click on this link to the University of Nebraska.
