2007 Teacher of the Year - Region I

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Region I: Juvenile Justice Teacher of the Year Winner

Sandie Liebenguth

PACE Center for Girls, Escambia/Santa Rosa

Teaching Philosophy Statement

There is a teaching knowledge and there is teaching wisdom. The challenge of any teacher is being able to impart both to her students. Or so I like to think.

As a teacher, my philosophy has always centered on providing students with a strong foundation of knowledge and then working with them to translate that knowledge into wisdom. To me, facts and dates have never been enough. I seek the challenge of taking my students on a wondrous adventure that is exciting in nature and difficult in degree of expectations. Watching a student achieve success where they least expected to find it and see them not only understand why World War II took place but come up with their own ideas on how it could have been prevented has its own reward that stands as priceless.

I have always thought outside the box and my teaching style tends to reflect this. When working with my students I try to use projects and activities that push them to think past the text book in-front of them. Last year, when trying to explain the difficulties countries faced during World War I and World War II, I discovered my students were having trouble understanding what really goes into running a country. So, that being the case, I created a Take Over the World project. Every student designed their own country from the shape to the population, chose their form of government, made trade agreements with each other, and even waged war on fellow students. They had to not only create an economy but sustain it along with health care and law making. I would also add in random crisis like hurricanes, mutinies, and disease. There was a lot of laughter during those few moments.

I also started a campaign project with one of my classes in which they are broken up into political parties and are responsible for creating their own political platform and will soon hold their first debate. Whole group instruction like the Take Over the World project is often kept to one or two days a week given that the center I work at is primarily focused on individual instruction. This allows me to work with girls on their specific needs and create activities that allow them the same learning experience as working in a group. For example, a student who was reviewing the American Revolutionary War was given the task of creating pamphlets that showed both viewpoints in the war and went to various staff to convince them to join a particular side. She would have tough questions to answer and by the end of the assignment the staff was beginning to debate the issues amongst themselves.

Working at my center has been a constant joy, even in times of difficulty, and I have grown a lot both as a person and a teacher. I received staff member of the month last November, was designated Class Room Management Leader in the teaching staff, was designated as the Spirited Girls liaison to our State Office and oversaw the new development of its curriculum, and received constant recognition for my role as academic advisor in regards to my advisee students. I was also nominated last year for teacher of the year, but was unable to take part due to time restraints. My students continue to show substantial progress in their course work along with their abilities in critical and applied thinking, and I received my professional certificate while working at my center and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It has definitely been one for the books.

Despite spending most of my time in the classroom, I was responsible for the planning and initiation of events for the months of March and December in which I designed activities both in and out of the center. I have developed a good relationship with the Baptist Oncology Center where girls take tours of the cancer center to learn how patients are treated. I set the tours up every two to four months not only to increase education but to allow students who are interested in the medical field a chance to look at the potential job market. I also work steadily with the local Fred Astaire Dance Studio where girls spend the occasional afternoon after school learning new dances for shows. I have taken part in a center drive for the Oprah Leadership Academy, held a position in my center’s wellness committee, and maintained a relationship with the local art museum volunteer who comes to the center twice a month to work with the girls. I helped coordinate the STARS tutoring program at my center and will soon restart that program with new volunteers.

At my center we encourage strong values and principles and my favorites are exhibiting courage and embracing growth and change. When new students come into my classroom I recognize that courage and help push for that change. I spend time on planning periods often just talking with new students, walking them to a near by store for a coke, or reviewing their academics with a little more attention then what I would be able to do in a class. I believe it is essential that whenever a new student starts to take interest in their future, their choices are important at the beginning not just at the middle or the end. As my students grow and change I talk to them about jobs, colleges, and community involvement. I hold high expectations not just in grades but also in behavior. When guests come to the center I am not nervous when they come to my classroom because my girls always rise to meet my expectations. When students make mistakes I focus their attention not on the mistake itself but what led to it in order to instill in them a reflective practice that allows for learning from those choices and doing better the next time around.

Someone once told me that a teacher can help make a positive school environment by being positive around the school such as showing school pride. Because of this, I choose to be positive around my students. I frustrate my students sometimes because I do not allow talking unless it’s related, I never give free time, and I always ask for more. I’m tough as mails and rarely give an inch. Only I never raise my voice, I never talk down to them, I model the behavior expectations I expect of them, and I tell them as often as I can how proud I am of each and every one of them. I greet them every day with a smile, I tailor my curriculum to fit their needs not mine, and everything I do focuses on creating a pride inside each of them of their own accomplishments. I praise them for the small success, exclaim at the big ones, and laugh with them at the bitter sweet. I am consistent to the point of irritating and as firm a support as I possibly can be. I create a positive environment by instilling that positive nature in them and the love of my school comes from the love of my students.