Steven Wyborney
Oregon Teacher of the Year
Nyssa Elementary School, Nyssa, OR
Grade 5, All subjects

My teaching philosophy
I believe strongly that all students have an absolutely amazing capacity for learning. Their ability to learn is astonishing, and it overwhelms any of the curriculums of programs that we have in place today. That reality drives my teaching efforts.

My philosophy in action
I present my students with activities and challenges that motivate and interest them. I always try to highlight potential and possibilities. In my classroom, I promote the idea that each one of us is both a learner and a teacher. I constantly seek to identify and develop every student's ideas and means of learning so that we can all learn from one another.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
My greatest accomplishment is that I have been able to bring an unusually high level of clarity to the learning process by capturing specific moments of student learning in animated icons. I am then able to duplicate those icons and transform them into powerful questioning tools which allow my students to powerfully engage original moments of learning from any point throughout the school year. Using PowerPoint and a SMART board, I am then able to activate and display connections among concepts in ways that have previously not been possible.

The most critical issues facing educators today
The most critical issue facing education today is that potential is expanding much more rapidly than our resources. Education must always move forward with excellence, and while the possibilities are enormous, the resources to connect with those possibilities are not readily available. In order to meet the rapidly rising levels of potential, our educators must be provided with an ongoing equipping of tools, strategies, and interactions.

Ways to resolve this issue
It is important that teachers demonstrate and share the best of their efforts in the classroom. The learning and experience of any teacher in our nation could contribute to any other teacher in our nation.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
While it is a privilege to be in a role that requires excellence, it is also frequently exhausting. When you are in need of support, look to your peers. We are all surrounded by many amazing people. Many of them secretly do incredibly inspiring things for their students every day. And don't forget that you are standing as the inspiration to many of them as well.

One lesson every student should learn
Every student should learn –should realize– that they are absolutely extraordinary and they can accomplish anything.

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