Rita Hovermale
Delaware Teacher of the Year
Woodbridge High School, Bridgeville, DE
Grades 9-12, Family & Consumer Sciences

My teaching philosophy
I believe that teaching and learning should be joyful events. Laughing and making mistakes should be part of the classroom every day.

My philosophy in action
I attempt to make my classroom a place where students feel safe and welcomed. Yes, learning is hard work, but great work can be accomplished in an atmosphere where students don't feel threatened.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
My greatest teaching accomplishment is the establishment of the Raider Preschool, an on-site learning laboratory for advanced early childhood education students. In the preschool, students get the opportunity to "try on" teaching. They get to make mistakes while under a teacher's supervision. The preschool also offers a positive first-time school experience for children in the district.

The most critical issue facing educators today
As educators, our most critical issue is the lack of parental involvement. In many cases, it isn't that parents don't want their child to be successful, it’s just that they often don't know how to help them. The breakdown of the family contributes to this problem.

Ways to resolve this issue
When drugs and sex became issues, we developed a curriculum with these issues in mind, along with every other school in the country. We help make our roads safer by offering driver training in our high schools. In addition, if parenting is truly the most important occupation anyone will have, then we should be teaching our students how to be parents. Since we learn parenting from our parents, this cycle will continue unless we take steps to intervene.

One thought to inspire other teachers to succeed
For many of our students, we are the thin thread that dangles between their success and failure. We must strive to constantly help our students. This is why teaching is such a demanding profession.

One lesson every student should learn
Every student should know how to ask questions. It is far better to know how and when to ask questions, than it is to have all the answers.

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