Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2009

Edwardsville, East St. Louis educators contend for Teacher of the Year honors

Columbus Elementary in Edwardsville and East St. Louis High School have something in common: Each has a finalist for the Illinois Teacher of the Year award.

Martha Warren is a science teacher at East St. Louis High School. Robert Canada teaches fifth grade at Columbus Elementary. They are two of only 10 finalists statewide.

"I was shocked when the principal said I made the finalist list," Warren said. "You get nominated the year before and you don't even remember. ... I was totally taken aback."

This is Warren's 10th year at East St. Louis High. She used to teach at the college and professional level, using her certifications in pharmacology from the U.S. Navy and death investigator with the St. Louis University School of Medicine.

But in higher education, Warren said she was dismayed at how few minorities appeared in the higher-level science classes. "I thought it was the universities, and it wasn't," she said.

Instead, she found that minority students were not receiving the basic foundations in the sciences at the high-school level.

So she decided to do something about it, and switched to secondary education. Now she teaches biology, honors anatomy and physiology, and honors forensic science at East St. Louis High.

Many of her students come to her thinking the subjects will be like the TV show "CSI," she said, but she shows them the real work that differs from television using nontraditional methods: For example, the class will do a scavenger hunt using a GPS system, using math and science at once to solve problems.

Warren has degrees in biology and education in addition to her professional credentials, plus a background in art, design and theater.

"There are things they didn't train me for," she said, listing issues with teen pregnancy, uninvolved parents and abject poverty. "That part is something you learn on the job, how to deal with that and help the kids," she said.

Like Warren, Canada had a different job before he was a teacher. A graduate of Webster University, he had a managerial position at a bank when he realized he didn't want to spend the next 40 years selling financial planning products from a basement cubicle.

Instead, he went back to college for another 84 credit hours on top of his bachelor's degree to become a fifth-grade teacher, a position he's held for 13 years -- 12 of them at Edwardsville. He also has a specialty in literacy education and recently completed a master's degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

"I had to do something more meaningful with my life," Canada said. He structures his classroom more like a workplace -- students working in teams of four or five instead of sitting in rows, using technology and group projects to get students out of the memorization rut.

Canada uses a lot of technology and credits the district with his freedom to experiment. It's not just using the board game "Axis and Allies" to teach the kids about World War II -- the students then make mini-videos about what they've learned and upload them to "TeacherTube," what Canada calls "a safe YouTube" that lets them share their knowledge with parents. It keeps the children motivated and interested -- when they're producing videos about what they learn, they remember it better and understand it more than facts they recite by rote, he said.

"The age-old question at dinnertime -- 'What did you do today?' -- the answer is no longer, 'Nothing,'" Canada said. "The excitement is contagious. ... I want to be here every day."

TeacherTube also lets teachers learn from each other, he said, and he was quick to pass the credit for his nomination to the team.

"There are so many great teachers in this district and so many people I've stolen ideas from," Canada said.

Unlike Warren, Canada must teach every subject but he says that's easier because he can show students how a theme in one subject connects to another, and the students don't leave after 42 minutes.

"You would not believe what a fifth-grader is capable of if you give them the chance," Canada said. "And our administration encourages us to experiment and try new things."

That's another thing they have in common: belief in the ability of their students.

"I believe that all children are innately wonderful and talented," Warren said. "It's up to us as educators to help them shine like the diamonds they're supposed to be and help them find their place."

The Illinois Teacher of the Year award will be announced Oct. 24.