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Lisa Johnson Bowers, science teacher at Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio was named the 2011 EUREKA Educator of the Year by the Better Business Bureau Center for Character Ethics at the Ohio Schools of Character Summit held at the Vineyard Columbus. Ms. Johnson Bowers, a 24 year veteran high school teacher, tells how her “EUREKA moment” occurred: “when I listened to Dennis Parker, author of “Coaching to Change Lives,” speak about the difference between significance and success. Dennis was a football coach in Texas and in order to gain an edge on his competition, he developed character lessons for his football team that they taught every day in practice. Not only did they win, but the players' grades increased and the coaches became more motivated. He realized that the time he spent trying to be a success was not as beneficial to the team as the time that he spent trying to be significant. In other words, character development led to academic achievement.” This epiphany had a tremendous impact on Lisa’s teaching because she now understood that although she had become a successful teacher, she wasn’t yet a significant teacher. So she began to focus on character development, asking herself: “When my students are in their 30’s, and reflecting back on their chemistry class, will they talk about learning the symbol for the element Helium? Or, will they be thankful that they learned about perseverance, goal setting and other leadership skills?” She continued to teach content and stress academic excellence, but realized that the path to excellence is through character development.
Mrs. Thuma is a 30 year veteran high school teacher, and at a point when most teachers would be “coasting” to retirement, she took on a new challenge to help her students develop both performance and moral character in pursuit of higher math achievement. Her “EUREKA moment” occurred during a BBB Center for Character Ethics professional development training, when she realized that “performance character” could raise the achievement of her students. She said: “I had always discussed honesty with my students, but now we could talk about a wide variety of performance character topics – I was energized.” Mrs. Thuma worked over the summer with a colleague, talking about how it could be applied in their classrooms.
She completely changed the way she approached teaching and grading in her classroom – using what she had learned to help students set goals, increase their effort, and work harder to achieve. She no longer gave students points for completing homework, which for years had propped up grades. “Students could get passing grades by turning in homework, not verifiable as their own work, even though they failed the tests,” Mrs. Thuma explained. Students could pass, but not really understand the math concepts and operations she was trying to teach. She eliminated points for homework, which forced the students to work harder to maintain their grades – which they did. Grades did not slide as would be expected – but rather remained about the same, meaning that they now truly reflect what a student knows about math. And in the process, students learned something about perseverance, hard work and attitude.
The first EUREKA Award winner, Mark Schumacker, is a seventh-grade mathematics teacher at Ankeney Middle School in Beavercreek. Mr. Schumacker combines the idea of “performance character,” which encourages students to set goals, do their best work, and adopt a positive attitude, with seventh-grade mathematics instruction. He changed his teaching after learning about Smart & Good Schools (have link open in new window) at a conference. This is Schumacker’s third year of practicing performance character, such as goal setting, in his teaching. In these three years, Schumacker has noted his students are more engaged, they have improved their test scores, and there have been fewer incomplete and “zero” assignments. Schumacker says the number of his students failing math has decreased from approximately 15 students to three since he implemented this program into his curriculum.
At the beginning of the school year, Schumacker asks students to consider the most incredible goal they could set for themselves in math, and then encourages them to make that their academic goal for the year. For example, one student reported his goal was to achieve straight A’s on his report card. He developed a plan to complete all assignments, revise his homework, and follow the class’s recommended study techniques. Schumacker reports that to date, this student has met his goal.
“Many students aspire only to mediocrity, but nothing is impossible,” says Schumacker. “You can achieve your dreams if you put forth the effort to make them happen.”
To reach their yearly targets, Schumacker asks students to set quarterly and biweekly goals. Pupils chart their progress on a “Goals and Accomplishments Sheet,” a sheet of paper passed out every two weeks, and they display their work and grades in class. Students meet weekly with a classmate to encourage accountability, and Schumacker enlists the help and involvement of each child’s parents. Schumacker hosts special nights when parents can come to the classroom to learn more about the curriculum, goals, and classroom methods.
According to Schumacker, such efforts, when combined with specific classroom policies that support learning, have made a tremendous difference with his pupils. My classes’ test results were better last year than at any previous point in my career,” he said.