Personal Statement: 2013-18 Wylie High School

Introduction

Being honored by my esteemed colleagues as the 2017-18 Wylie High School Teacher of the Year is humbling. Educating students demands many characteristics: integrity, honor, courage, dedication, compassion, patience, and an eternal passion for learning. Striving to exemplify all these characteristics with my students on a daily basis challenges me to excel. My primary goal for my students is improvement, developing them into better biologists, scientists, thinkers, students, citizens, and people. Entrusted and charged to educate students in knowledge and skills in the study of Life happens to be my occupation, but by building relationships with them, I have the opportunity to change a student’s trajectory and have a profound

Students comment to me, “Mr. Middleton, I enjoy coming to your class, I just wished you taught a subject that I enjoyed…. like history.” or “Do you EVER have a bad day?”. I want to share my love and passion for science, especially Biology, with my students. Enthusiasm, like success, can be infectious and this one attribute grants me an incredible advantage in my instruction. Purposely mispronouncing words, constant movement, and sarcasm are all strategies used to entertain and engage students during class. Telling humorous stories, interesting facts, explaining pertinent research, or something stupid I have done recently or in the past helps me maintain a positive atmosphere in my classroom. It is in these non-academic moments that bolster my true ability to teach them the challenging academic knowledge needed to

Every year, my students complete a course evaluation of my class twice a year, once at the end of the first six weeks and the other at the end of the year. With the first evaluation, I ask them to provide constructive criticism of anything we have done in class with three simple categories: Like, Dislike, and Change. I leave the room for 10 minutes and when I return, we discuss their replies and I change some components of the course, adapting to their learning needs. This allows students a voice and ownership in their education, and I receive incredible buy-in for the remainder of the year. At the end of the year I give an anonymous survey which allows students to speak honestly; this has improved my teaching more than any walk-through, observation, educational course, or professional development. Receiving honest feedback from students who have taken your course is uncomfortable, informative and provides tremendous opportunity for