Tag Archives: Science Teachers

Science teacher and former MLB pitcher Jim Morris

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Jim Morris

Science teacher and former MLB pitcher Jim Morris

There are many examples of professional athletes who also enjoyed highly successful carers in the classroom. One of these athletes is Jim Morris, a high school teacher and coach who was also a pitcher for Major League Baseball.

Jim was born January 19, 1964, in Brownwood, Texas. Because his father was in the Navy, the family moved quite often during Jim’s childhood. He spent some of his childhood in New Haven, Connecticut; Great Lakes, Illinois; and Jacksonville, Florida. When his parents finally settled in Texas, Jim attended Brownwood High School. He graduated in 1982.

All during high school Jim nurtured a dream of pitching professional baseball. His dream was nearly realized when, in the 1982 amateur baseball draft, Jim signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. However, due to several arm injuries sustained while he played in the minor leagues, Jim was released during the 1987 season. In 1989, the young ball player signed with the Chicago White Sox, but once again was released before he could make it to the Show.

Once Jim retired from baseball, he decided to go back to school. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Science, Kinesology, and Psychology from Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, in 1996. Then he became a high school physical science, chemistry, and physucs teacher and baseball coach at Reagan County High School in Big Lake, Texas.

In the Spring of 1999, eleven years after retiring from minor league baseball, Jim  was giving a pep talk to his high school team about the importance of dreams and hard work. His high school players challenged him to pursue his own dream of pitching in the major leagues, so Jim promised the students that if they won the District Championship, he would tryout for a spot in Major League Baseball one more time. When his students won the title, Jim kept his promise by attending tryouts for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The team scout wasn’t really interested in signing the high school coach, but allowed him to tryout so that he could keep his promise. To everyone’s surprise, Jim played exceptionally well, and so, even though he was 35 years old, he signed a contract with the team. He made his MLB debut in September, 1999, and 16 more major league appearances before his arm injuries resurfaced. He was released in 2000, and then played briefly for the Dodgers. Jim retired from baseball in 2001.

In 2001 Jim published his autobiography, The Oldest Rookie. The book was adapted into a film called The Rookie, released in 2002 and starring Dennis Quaid. Today Jim appears as a motivational speaker.

Middle school teacher and former Green Bay Packers football player John Anderson

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John Anderson

Middle school science teacher and former Green Bay Packers football player John Anderson.

Super Bowl fever has hit the nation! As we get ready to enjoy this sports spectacular, I am reminded that there are many examples of gifted athletes who are also talented classroom teachers. One of these is Roger John Anderson, a professional football player who became a junior high school science teacher.

Roger was born on February 14, 1956, in Waukesha, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. All his life he preferred to be called John. As a youth, John attended Waukesha South High School, where he played both football and basketball.

Following his high school graduation, John enrolled at the University of Michigan, where he studied from 1974 to 1977. While there, he played college football as a linebacker and defensive end. In 1976, this stellar athlete was selected to be a member of the First-Team All-Big Ten Conference. In 1977, he was named a First-Team All-American.

In 1978, John played the first of 12 seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round. During these years, he was selected by the Packers as their Most Valuable Defensive Player three times. By the time he retired from pro football, John had become the Packers’ all-time leader in tackles (1,020). He was was tied with Ray Nitschke for the career interception mark (25). In 1996, John was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

When John’s career as a pro-ball player came to a conclusion in 1989, he became a sportscaster for WITI station in Milwaukee. In 1998, he decided to teach Earth Science at Brookfield Academy, a non-sectarian, private pre-K-12 school located in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He also served as the linebackers coach for Carroll University in Waukesha. Established in 1846, Carroll University is a private liberal arts college associated with the Presbyterian Church. Carroll was Wisconsin’s first four-year institution of higher learning.

Now 62, John retired from his teaching position at Brookfield Academy in 2017. To view a four-minute video interview of this inspirational athlete and educator, click on this link: Alumni Spotlight: John Anderson.

Educator Ben Walker named Alaska’s 2018 Teacher of the Year

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Ben Walker

Outstanding educator Ben Walker of the Anchorage School District named Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year.

Ben Walker of Anchorage has been named Alaska’s 2018 State Teacher of the Year. Ben teaches science at Romig Middle School in the same classroom where his mother, Karen Walker, also taught school.

Ben is originally from Ketchikan. His family moved to Anchorage, where Ben graduated from Dimond High School in 1996. The honored educator earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Following his college graduation, he moved back to Anchorage where he worked in the science industry for ten years. Then he decided become a teacher. “I wanted to do something that was a little more meaningful in my life,” Ben confessed. He enrolled at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, where he earned his Master’s degree in Teaching. His teaching career now spans 13 years.

Ben reveals that he works toward making science exciting, integrating hands-on activities into his daily lessons. For example, his students recently collected water from around the city. Then the students examined the samples under a microscope to find various microorganisms and classify them into different kingdoms. “Instead of just saying, ‘This is taxonomy. This is how we classify things,’ ” Ben explained, “we say, ‘Let’s get some real things, let’s bring them in and classify them.’ “

Congratulations, Ben Walker.

Michigan’s Nita Nicholie: Science teacher extraordinaire

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Nita Nicholie

Nita Nicholie, science teacher at St. Joseph High School in St. Joseph, Michigan.

Ever wonder if what you do in the classroom truly makes a difference in the lives of your students? Well, here is a story that proves that it does. This story is about Nita Nicholie, a science teacher at St. Joseph High School, a public school located in St. Joseph, Michigan.

This amazing educator earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics from Michigan State University in 1985. When Nita started inaugurated her career in the classroom, she thought she’d teach for only a few years. That was 32 years ago. “I went into teaching because I love science, but I stayed in teaching because I love the kids,” Nita confesses.

Former student Autumn Roth, who took an Honors Physics with Nita before heading off to college, remembers, “On the first day of class she burst into the room singing show-tunes at the top of her lungs. I knew right then that this was going to be a good class.”

Nita’s influence on the lives of her students extends beyond her classroom. Over the years, this compassionate educator and her family have taken in over 20 students to live with them. “A lot of times they just needed a safe place to sleep, to have a warm shower in the morning and food before they go to sleep at night,” the chalkboard champion remarks. Nita even has an alarm set on her phone to remind her to text some students to make sure they’re awake and heading to school. It’s all part of connecting with her students, and doing whatever she can to help them be successful in school. For her efforts, Nita has earned special recognition. In 2010, she was nominated for Michigan Teacher of the Year.

“There’s no formula about how to be a great teacher,” Nita asserts. “If I really truly love what I do, the kids know it.”

Nita Nicholie: truly an inspiration.

John Fedorowicz: Navy Veteran who now teaches chemistry

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John Fedorowicz

John Fedorowicz, a retired US Navy veteran, teaches chemistry in Virginia.

John A. Fedorowicz is a veteran now retired from the US Navy. He served as a Navy Intelligence Officer from from 1988 – 2013, a total of 25 years. While in the military, John was assigned to the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center (NMITC) where he was initially assigned as the Curriculum/Instructional Standards Officer (CISO). After a year, he also began teaching intelligence-related subjects involving operational intelligence. “During this time, I realized I enjoyed figuring out how to put together information on a topic and how to best explain it to students. I enjoyed the challenge of making topics relevant and interesting to students,” remembers John.

After John retired from his military career, he worked to make his love of teaching a reality. He now teaches high school chemistry at Indian River High School located in Chesapeake, Virginia. “The biggest benefit to teaching is knowing that you have a direct impact in helping prepare your students to succeed in life beyond the classroom,” asserts John. “The impact may come in the form of conveying information, as in my subject of chemistry. It may be in listening to them and maybe providing advice when they have had a bad experience at work, home, or with their peers. It may also be in modeling patience, self-control, organization, or how to treat others with respect,” he continues. “The impact teachers have on students’ lives can never be overestimated,” he concludes.

John earned his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1985. He earned his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Troy University in Troy, Alabama, in 1996. In addition, John earned a degree in National Security Studies from the Naval War College in 2008, and he studied at Virginia Wesleyan College from 2011-2013.

Thank you for your service, John, both in the military and in the classroom!