2002 Georgia Teacher of the Year
Dr. Stallings teaches Biology and Physical Science to high school students at Gilmer High School in Georgia. He has eighteen years of teaching experience.

What are your beliefs about teaching?
"Engage, engage, engage. We need to allow our students to experience science, not just hear about it from the teacher or read about it in a book. This may be applied to any subject."

How are your beliefs incorporated in your teaching style?
"In my classroom, we have open-ended laboratory experiences and plenty of opportunities to observe, collect data and form conclusions based on those experiences. If you do not have laboratory experiences about 40% of the time, then your classroom is not active enough to provide a 'true' picture of science in action. We need to be sure that children experience science so they may truly understand and appreciate it."

What is your greatest teaching accomplishment?
"My greatest teaching accomplishment is every time a student comes back and tells me how much he enjoyed my class or gives me some credit for his own success. That's an incredible rush."

What's the most critical issue facing educators today and what do you think can be done to resolve this issue?
"The most critical issue facing educators today is the lack of enough real training to be able to reach every child in the classroom. On-going, continuous, professional development is the key to improving education. Every dollar we spend improving teacher skills is the best educational investment of all. There is no single or cheap fix. We must actually change our teaching culture to one that not only encourages continuous professional development but demands it from us. Finally, we need to understand that we cannot simply stay in our rooms and do this by ourselves. We must collaborate, assess and then repair our weaknesses constantly, just like professionals in any other field. Educational malpractice must stop."

Inspirational thought:
"It's a lot more satisfying to achieve excellence in your profession than to continue to wallow in mire. If you want to have a better career, personally and professionally, immerse yourself in the practice and promotion of excellence in teaching for every child in your room and school."