‘All hands on deck for middle schoolers’ is this talented teacher’s mantra
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Monday, October 11, 2010 - 3:56pm
For North Haven’s 2009-10 teacher of the year – sixth grade middle school social studies instructor Don Johnson – everyday communication with students is an understated opportunity for growth.
“With all the big initiatives, all the great things going on here, it all comes down to the daily interactions with the kids,” he said. “You just never know what the smallest word of encouragement, the smallest lesson you teach them, can mean to them.”
Citing an example, Johnson recalled when he taught fifth grade at Ridge Road Elementary School. “One year, I had a really unorganized student,” he said. “On the last day of school, I gave him a pencil. I told him it was a magical pencil, and if he didn’t lose it, he was going to go on to do great things.”
“Seven years later, at North Haven High School graduation, he came up to me,” he continued. “He still had the pencil. I had forgotten about it, completely. His mother and father thanked me. His mother had the pencil in her hand. He said that it was because of me and his parents that he made it to that day. He had become the student council president. He had gotten his act together when he went to middle school.”
At the end of last school year, Johnson was named North Haven’s teacher of the year. He was nominated as his building’s candidate by middle school guidance counselor Karen Spencer.
Annually, North Haven’s six public schools each put forth an award aspirant. After rounds of interviews with district representatives, hopefuls are narrowed to one winner, who is entered into Connecticut’s teacher of the year race.
“I haven’t heard anything yet,” Johnson said of the statewide competition. “September is usually when they announce who they have narrowed the selections down to. October is when they announce the teacher of the year.”
Completing a 22-page form for Connecticut consideration last summer, Johnson better saw how he stood on some educational issues. For example, on basing teacher reviews on students’ standardized exam results, he said, “I’m all for teacher accountability, but paying teachers based only on test scores – I think that’s terrible. You would basically turn teachers into salesmen. If you don’t make your numbers, you’re fired. Teachers are not that simple.”
“On the other hand, the idea of getting tenured automatically because you show up every day for work and get an acceptable rating, that can be improved upon,” he continued.
Johnson, vice-president of North Haven’s teachers’ union, also found himself writing about preserving his peers’ rights and jobs. “I fight to keep teachers’ jobs,” he said. “I want to make sure we’re treated like professionals.”
“The public is not aware that a lot of us here have earned three college degrees, and continue to work to be educated to stay current once we get our jobs,” he added.
Johnson has taught in town for 19 years – 13 at Ridge Road and six at North Haven’s middle school. Moreover, he is a product of local schools and a NHHS graduate.
“I just turned 40,” he said. “For 32 of those 40 years, every September I came back to the same place. Why? Because it matters – what they’re learning and what we’re doing here is very important.”
Overseeing a classroom was not on Johnson’s mind at NHHS graduation. “When I first went away to college, I was pretty undecided,” he said. “Then I started teaching swimming lessons at a summer camp and enjoyed it. I took an interest inventory at college, and it came out completely skewered toward education.”
“So I changed my major to education,” he added. “I loved it. To me, it’s about giving back. What we do here as teachers, what goes on in public schools, simply matters.”
When Johnson was still working at the fifth grade level, he wished more time existed for history. Former North Haven Superintendent Sara-Jane Querfeld, then Ridge Road’s principal, suggested he consider middle school, so he could focus on his favorite subject full-time.
“To me, Social Studies is the idea that people, as always, are trying to live together, and share this planet and its resources, and all the different cultures and backgrounds,” he said, “and how, as individuals, do we best contribute to that.”
“Looking at history, what led to conflicts, we can see the good things and what failed,” he continued. “That all needs to get combined and learned, in order to create new citizens, the kids who are going to lead the country and the world one day.”
Such interest in the past extends to Johnson’s personal life. “Five years ago, I bought an old house because it had history to it,” he said. “I found out about one family who lived on the property. One of their kids went on to write a novel. I have it.”
“I love this subject,” he added. “It’s what I like to read in my spare time. It’s fascinating to me. It’s not really a job to me, but a dream job, in that I get to do this every day.”
Sometimes, middle school has a tough reputation. Johnson disagrees. “It’s an amazing time,” he said. “These kids are very, very reachable. They’re starting to form a lot of their own opinions. They’re trying to figure out how to be who they are. They’re looking for role models.”
“So instead of seeing it as something to shy away from, I really enjoy being able to make that kind of connection with them,” he added. “I can show them who they could be when they reach their potential.”
Johnson teaches five classes per day. For all six years he has been at North Haven Middle School, he has served as team leader of the maroon team, which consists of approximately 100 sixth graders.
“That’s great, because it allows me to interact with everyone, the parents, kids, principals, teachers and administrators,” he said, “It gives me a hands-on role. During these middle school years, kids kind of need all hands on deck. I’m glad to be part of that, to help get them to high school.”
North Haven middle school principal Philip Piazza offered praise for Johnson.
“He has an outstanding and well-deserved reputation throughout the district,” Piazza said at the district convocation in September. “Anytime I am with him during a visit to Ridge Road School, it’s like being with a rock star. Everyone comes out to say hello, shake his hand and tell him how much they miss him, a true tribute to the impact he has had on North Haven public school students and faculty members.”
“The kids love him,” Piazza added. “They love his class, they love his team and they continually come back to visit long after their middle school days are over. This is, again, a tribute to his reputation and his skills as an educator to be so well-respected by both students and staff.”
