How has the way you teach changed over the years? What lessons have you learned?

"Those who dare to teach must never cease to learn." This thought has been a guiding principle throughout my years in education. Teaching is a constantly evolving process. My lessons today are so much different than when I first started. Student-directed learning truly rules the classroom. Performance tasks, higher order thinking, real-world application, extending and refining knowledge, and co-operative learning are integrated into every unit. Utilizing multiple intelligences and individualizing instruction are the latest challenges to being an effective teacher.

One thing hasn't changed: great teaching has always involved making students believe you care about their achievement in the classroom and their success as a person.

What advice would you give to a teacher who's starting their first year and feels overwhelmed?

If your school does not assign you to a mentor, go to your principal and ask him to introduce you to someone who can help you when you need it. Don't be afraid to go to that person and ask for help. There will be too much minutia of school rules and regulations for you to learn it all at once. Organization is the key. Prepare as well as you possibly can for everyday, even though something will arise that you never had to learn how to juggle in college or during your teaching internship.

Remember . . .while you might have much anxiety about how knowledgeable you are in your content area, relax! You know much more than any of your students are even interested in knowing. When it comes to computer technology, however, many of your students will know more than you do - so let them help you when you get stumped. Teaching is a dance: you learn as you go.

What role does technology play in your teaching? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching for me is that this profession never remains static. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning new methodologies and incorporating the latest technology into my classroom. At the beginning of each class, I use the intranet to show a "warm-up" slide show to get things started on a positive note. I help my students use the latest digital video editing technology to produce historical documentaries in World History class. Many of them use their projects to compete in academic contests like Maryland History Day.

I use the Web as an excellent source for teaching current events and gathering political news and data for my A.P. Government class. This month, our entire school will participate in an intranet Webquest that my department is coordinating for this year's 2004 presidential election. This will help students become engaged in the political process by learning how to fill out voter registration forms, examine the issues each party represents, discover which party they feel connected to, and finally allow students to predict what the electoral college outcome will be for this election. A Webquest is an excellent technological tool that allows many students the opportunity to participate in real-world applications.

How do you involve the community in your classroom?

Teaching students to give back to their communities is important. My department members and I have made a conscientious effort to involve our community in our history classes by interviewing, writing, and publishing the stories of eighty-two Garrett County WWII vets. Veterans were paired up with young student historians who used oral history procedures to develop each veteran's story of their experiences in WWII. The local historical society helped to finance the publication of our book, which sold over 500 copies. The Garrett County Historical Society, along with the local American Legion, sponsored a special dinner where veterans and students shared their changed perception of the each other's generation.

It was a magical moment; one that I will always remember from my years of teaching. We are currently working on publishing a second book of Garrett County Korean War veterans' oral histories.

Two of my students wrote a bill that eventually was passed into law by the Maryland General Assembly. The new law allows Korean War veterans who did not finish high school, because of their service commitment to the Korean War, to be able to apply for and receive a high school diploma. Last year, we had our first Korean War veteran from Garrett County walk through graduation as a result of the law that was written by two of my students. These connections to the community help bring history alive to students in the classroom.