Mark A. Nethercott
Wyoming Teacher of the Year
Star Valley High School, Afton
Grades 10–12, Chemistry, Physics, Geology

My teaching philosophy
I heard the other day, “Teaching is not filling, but lighting a fire.” To me, a great educator is someone who can “light the fire” for as many students as possible. Accordingly, making my class time meaningful with a variety of engaging activities is essential. I have approached education with the philosophy that a class should be challenging, yet fun and interesting for every student. I believe that students should have “LOTS” (lower order thinking skills) before they can have “HOTS” (higher order thinking skills) and that education should be a hands-on process where students learn by experiencing. Moreover, good self-esteem comes from successful experiences, which are derived from hard work and great effort. We live in a country where, and in a time in history when, too many young people are out for instant gratification; however, truly meaningful things in life (like education) require hard work, persistence, and dedication.

Although I try to make learning interesting and fun, I’m also known as one of the most challenging teachers in our school. Students will rise to our high expectations (if the expectations are not unrealistic). The more I expect from students, the more I will get from them. Students like to feel they have accomplished something worthwhile. They feel good about their efforts when they have done well on a project, test, or course that requires them to work.

Additionally, I believe educators should go in-depth in our teaching and not just give a topic a superficial once-over. An in-depth study of a topic allows students to use lower-order thinking skills to gain basic knowledge about a subject, and also allows the students the opportunity to dig in, use, and master higher-order thinking skills to solve problems, to synthesize, and to evaluate different processes related to the topic.

My philosophy in action
My nickname at Star Valley High School is “Pyro.” There is an obvious reason for this pseudo-name of sorts; you see, I teach chemistry using some “flashy,” but safe, demonstrations. I wish . . . hope . . . to be called “Pyro” for another reason, however, that being a “flare” for teaching. I try very hard to “spark” an interest in my students, so that they do more than go through the motions of learning, and develop the desire to learn on their own. That way I’m not just filling them with knowledge, but they are “fired-up” about self directed learning. In addition, it is said that variety is the spice of life. This is especially true in a teenager’s educational experiences. In my classroom, students do a variety of activities during an 85-minute block of time. For example, students team up with a partner, quiz each other with a vocabulary matrix, which might be followed by a quick assessment. Then a review of information from the previous day using magnetized word strips on the white board, arranged by students into a graphic organizer, follows. Next, I would give a quick lecture (complete with demonstrations) on a topic using PowerPoint presentation graphics program, a whiteboard, and laser disks, followed by students investigating the topic in cooperative lab groups. At which point, the students might do an Internet search of the topic. Sometimes, they will go into the lab to investigate an idea and then return to class and discuss what they’ve learned. Perhaps, I will take them on a field trip where the objective is to make observations and write questions using a question matrix. Returning to class, we compare notes, find answers to their questions, and see what we can learn from their fieldwork. A variety of activities and learning strategies reach an array of different learners.

I strongly believe that students should not only read or hear about a particular topic, but they should also have the opportunity, as much as possible, to experience the concepts we discuss. For example, in physics or physical science, when we talk about Newton’s laws of motion, I will have every kid experience these laws first hand on a “hover craft” we’ve made in class. We’ll “discover” and investigate projectile motion by launching tennis balls from alcohol cannons in the school parking lot. Left over Halloween pumpkins are dropped from the top of the football stadium to measure the acceleration of gravity. I try to use as many different teaching strategies as possible to touch all students, no matter their learning style. In geology, we define terms, and then we see, smell, feel and taste them. One of my favorite activities is to take geology classes on a walk through glacial moraine in Teton National Park and observe glacial effects and features with their eyes and hands, not by looking at a picture in a textbook. It is one thing to talk about an erratic (glacial boulder), another thing to see a picture of an erratic, and yet a whole new world to touch and sit on an erratic.

My greatest teaching accomplishment
Besides being named 2007 Wyoming Teacher of the Year I believe my greatest teaching accomplishment has been a life dedicated to the process of positively affecting the lives of thousands of young people over the last two decades. My greatest accomplishment comes not in one act or program, but through the constant day-to-day interactions with my students. I have committed my life to their service and education. I have helped teenagers see their potential and feel the satisfaction of working hard to be successful. I have helped students discover who they are and what they want to become. I have helped students understand that it is a good thing to be honest and filled with integrity. I have helped students know that learning sometimes takes a lot of work, but it can also be fun as well. They have become problem solvers, thinkers, and self-motivated learners. My former students are now professionals who are making a positive contribution to our world, and they have taken a bit of me with them.

The most critical issues facing educators today
There are many issues in education today. No Child Left Behind, safety and violence in schools, teacher shortages, teacher training and preparation, school funding and teacher salaries, merit pay, school vouchers, charter schools, class size, standards based education, high-stakes testing, over-testing of students, and student achievement gaps are a few of today’s educational issues. The educational issue that has affected me personally, and I believe the nation, the most in the last few years is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. NCLB has changed educational goals, funding, and accountability nationally, statewide, on the school district level, and in the classroom. Billions of dollars have been pumped into our nation’s schools in an attempt to raise standards and achievement for every student in our country. Implementation of the act has created no small stir or division among government officials, educational administrators, and teachers throughout the country. NCLB has not only caused educational controversy, but has generated reform that has both good and bad consequences for children in our schools.

No Child Left Behind has directly affected my family and me. My spouse spends a lot of time preparing and teaching as a Title I reading aide in our local elementary school. My children are affected by many hours of local and state testing to gather a body of evidence to show proficiency for No Child Left Behind. I have spent hundreds of mostly uncompensated hours, outside of my normal class load, working on statewide and district-wide assessments to measure improvement for NCLB. My time would have been better spent preparing lessons, labs, fieldtrips and developing new teaching skills and strategies. I have also spent extra time working directly with “at risk” students after school, before school, and during the summer to help them reach proficiency levels in science.

Students literally spend weeks of valuable class time taking assessments to demonstrate proficiency in national, state, and district standards. I believe class time is wasted preparing students for specific assessments so they can score well enough for our school to meet AYP. I believe students would be better served using this class time improving their skills and learning more in each classroom. Time wasted on testing and test preparation leaves students less-prepared at the completion of their public school experiences. Our students do not need less class-time, rather, they need more time to be better prepared for the educational demands of future society. I believe it is a problem that, in many ways, is lowering expectations in our schools and breeding mediocrity in schools. The intended benefits of No Child Left Behind are not being realized.

Ways to resolve this issue
Leaving any student behind, no matter race, ethnicity, religion, color, or socioeconomic status, should never satisfy us. However, I believe NCLB should be modified to give states, school districts, schools, and teachers credit for showing improvement with every student. Schools should be given credit for bringing low-end student scores up 20%, 30%, or more, even if they were not quite proficient. Likewise, proficient students who improve scores should also count towards a school demonstrating AYP. Not all students are the same. Not all communities are the same. Not all schools and school districts are the same. Not all states are the same. I don’t believe we should all be fitted with the same “one size fits all” solution to educational problems. All students can learn given enough time to do so. I don’t believe schools should be designated inferior because some of the students have not been able to achieve to someone else’s expectation in a certain amount of mandated time.

In order to compensate for weeks of class time missed due to test preparation and testing, I believe the school year should be lengthened by two or three weeks. More federal funding to increase classroom instruction should be provided to meet the mandated requirements of NCLB. It is time that administrators, counselors, teachers, and students get back to the real meaning of schools. Students need to be better prepared to improve the quality of their lives and making meaningful contributions to society, not being better test takers. The future of our nation depends on our success.

One thought to inspire teachers to succeed
A thought that inspires me is as follows: “Great things are accomplished by ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Our great nation was founded by ordinary men and women who took it upon themselves to perform the extraordinary feat of gaining independence for our nation. Great battles in our nation’s history were fought and won by ordinary people performing extraordinary acts of bravery. Great changes in civil rights and equality for all citizens were realized because of the efforts of ordinary people stretching to do extraordinary things. We as teachers are, for the most part, ordinary people. We can do extraordinary things in this world by positively influencing, encouraging, and helping young people. By going the extra mile and sharing our lives and extra time with youth we allow them to discover themselves and more fully reach their potentials.

We live in a very complex world where big events occur that may suddenly turn our lives upside down. However, small and simple things, done consistently over time, still matter.

Consider water, one of Earth’s simplest, yet most amazing substances. It is found on our planet in all three physical forms (solid, liquid, gas). Water is a positive and constructive material that is essential for life, as we know it. What makes Earth different from any other body in the universe of which we know? Water! Earth’s unique geomorphic features are due, in large part, to the effects of moving water. Controlled, water has many wonderful uses by mankind; however, in large unchecked amounts it can be very destructive. Similarly, seemingly insignificant and simple things may appreciably affect society. Two fundamental institutions in our nation are families and schools. More and more today we see the disintegration of family life and a flood of social problems. Educational institutions and teachers are required to make up the difference. Ordinary people doing extraordinary tasks accomplish great things. Small and simple deeds done, and words spoken, by educators at school affect every student for good or bad. We may do that special little something that will provide the right substance for a child to grow and flourish, or we may do or say things that will completely flood and wash out a young person.

A few years ago I started a Science Olympiad team at the high school where I taught. To organize a team I personally invited a few students to participate. One such student was a ninth grader in my junior/senior geology class. He wasn’t the best student in my classes, but there was potential, and I needed someone with a geology background. Billy was a quiet, struggling boy with few friends. His mother was trying to raise him alone and was challenged keeping him in line. I approached Billy and told him that I needed him to be on our science team, as a specialist in geology. He was very surprised, but agreed to participate. Billy spent a lot of time for the next few months preparing for the state science event. His grades and attitude improved. He won a gold medal at the state tournament. In fact he took gold at state in that same event the three following years and placed in the top twenty at the national competition. Billy did not become a geologist, but he did major in a science field at a private university in the east. I haven't seen him in over a decade, but in a letter from his university I learned he chose me as an educator who made a difference in his life.

Billy’s success started out with a simple thing. A little drop of water, if you will: I asked him to participate. I showed interest in him and his life. A small thing helped him realize his potential, and he constructively channeled his energy. We who are teachers all have “Billys” in our lives, most of whom we may never know. Small, simple, sincere gestures to all students, such as a pat on the back, a smile, a big hello, a compliment, or maybe even a few minutes to just listen without judging, can become dynamic, extraordinary acts that help constructively shape young lives. These are little things that make a big difference in the life of a child and provide a degree of constancy amid great change. Our success, our drive, as teachers comes from seeing accomplishment and improvement in our students’ lives. The small simple things teachers do is the water that helps sculpt the landscape of students’ lives.

One lesson every student should learn
One lesson every student should learn is that, with enough effort, they can become whatever and whoever they truly want to be. Nothing worthwhile comes without great effort, diligence, and persistence. If students will set goals and strive to the best of their abilities they can become and do anything they desire.

Back to the 2007 Teacher Profiles home page