Teacher of the Year: Ann McCarty

Subjects:  Current Year: Biology Honors / Forensics Science Past Years: Biology, Biology Honors, A.P Biology,  Chemistry, Chemistry Honors,  Physics, Physics Honors, Marine Biology,  Forensics, Driver’s Education,  CAP’s Science, CAP’s Junior English, CAP’s American History. 

Grade:  Grades 9-12

Total years teaching :  Twenty four                

 Years in Polk County:  Twenty fours

Major         Type of Degree        Year Graduated        College        City/State

Biology        B.S                        1985                        FSC               Lakeland, FL

Professional Development:

POP Trainer, Professional Development program  Trainer for school 1995-2002, Clinical Education Trainer, Flare trained, School literacy leadership team, Peer teacher, ESOL trained, CRISS trained, GIZMO trained,  Technology Trainer,  TESA Trainer,  Network manager training,  Framework for understanding poverty trained, Revitalizing Instruction for students and educators trained,  Venier lab trained, Applied Principles for learning trained.

Community Involvement:

Girls Scout / God and Country Award, Girls Scout Troop Asst. Leader, SAC  member, Leadership Bartow Class XIII member,  School Clean up, Athletic Booster Club, FFA Pie Auction,.

Biography:

As a young child I had always wanted to help others, when a career move caused me to re-think what I wanted to do for a living, my father suggested I try teaching.  I had many great teachers throughout my years as a student so I went to find out about substitute teaching.  Then, Dick Mullenix and Brenda Koon both former teachers suggested I be a full time teacher, not just a substitute.  I applied for a science position with another former teacher, Terry Ashley.  All of those teachers were very important influences in my life.  I love teachers that made teaching fun and relevant.  I wanted to be that kind of a teacher.  I love to work with other disciplines and teach across the subjects to intertwine learning for student.  In my career I have done much of this and think this has made learning an integral part for my students.   I had a chance to move into administration and did so for awhile, but have returned to the classroom and my true love. 

Teaching Style:

I teach every child the same, but take into account that each child is unique and needs my special touches of understanding and help.  I was an ESE student as an elementary student through middle school, and I know the challenges that a person who can not read and hates to read faces each and every day.  I wanted to find a way to help these students in the “normal” classroom.   I have helped potential drop outs stay in school and be productive and successful, I have helped honors student prepare for college and honors programs.  I have taught Advanced Placement subjects that needed my expertise of the college material to be successful.  I have taught in the mainstream classroom that has a little of all of these.  I love science and know it is what makes the world go round and try to find interesting ways to get that into students heads.  I do MANY hands on activities, many more labs than the minimum of eighteen required by the state for a lab science.  I feel hands on activities leaves a lasting impression on students that they can often remember for a life time.  Last year I noticed that students seemed to be missing the understanding of proper self decorum in a social setting. I approached a fellow teacher, (English) and asked if she would be interested in working with me to create a proper dining/social skills unit that we could teach to our students.  She agreed and she added this class in she and I developed a unit to help students know what to say, when to say it and how to have social skills that the students could use in the future.  I used my “hands-on” approach to learning and then invited all of the grade level students to my home a dozen at a time for a multi-course dinner that I cooked and had upper level students serve the courses, hence teaching yet another set of skills to more students.  This was widely successful.  Students can not wait for the program to begin this year.  My long range plan will be for the student to teach one another.  It is wonderful to listen to high school sophomores talk a t the dinner table about places that they visited over the summer and books that they have read as if they are in the real adult social environment.  They often speak of the things that they learn in my Biology class as important things that have happened in their lives.  I have taken groups of students to the nation’s capital and built a four and half story replica of the earth in just one day.  My students not only lead the project but helped more than five thousand elementary students to attach an outer skin that made the structure look like the earth.  We worked  with geography classes, math classes and science classes to complete this cross curricular event.  This project “Build a New World” was sent all over the world to help student see what they could do in just one day and it was dynamic!  Dynamic to see the kids respond and want to help others understand what the project meant and how they were an integral part of it.  Science, History, Math and Engineering all rolled into one, this is what learning is all about.  Again the hands on approach made the difference.   I am planning a cross curricular project across my entire school that will involve all of our students, improve reading, FCAT skills and have student talking to one another and wanting to discuss complex topics as just simple lunch/dinner talk.  I use the new GIZMO on line technology to help students take their science learning home and teach themselves, and their families the lessons we are teaching in my classroom.  Students are learning and then teaching which tells me that they have really learned the information and will remember it years from now.  I believe in always doing the right thing, sometimes it is hard, but if you take the high road all will work out, this is something I try to instill in students each day, be a positive role model and others will learn by your example.   Students teaching students, sometimes younger than themselves other time older than they are, but always being a good role model and passing it along.  My mantra is WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM, IT IS JUST A REALLY BIG FIELD.