 Janet
Knoeppel, CCEA State President (right), presented
the Teacher of the Year award to Ms. Susan Lorraine Stone at the 2001 CCEA State Conference in
San Francisco.
Ms. Stone teaches at Donald
C. Jamison High School in Lemoore. She has been in her current
position for eight out of eleven years of teaching.
She teaches a variety of subjects including: U.S. History, World
History, World Geography, Economics, Government, English, Reading,
Creative Writing, Art History, Earth Science, Graphic Arts-Screen
Printing, and Computer Literacy Skills.
Clearly, with the opportunity to present such diverse
subject matter, Susan Stone has many exciting approaches to teaching.
Here are a few statements regarding her enthusiasm and creativity
in her classroom.
On Classroom Technique/Creativity
“…my job becomes a challenge to deliver the material in ways
that will engage the learner hiding within the student.”
She thanked her master teacher who taught her that “…a good
teacher can never let lesson plans go stale…a teacher has to take a hard
look at the lesson plans,… and adjust and improve as needed.”
On Philosophy/ Dedication “My priority is to create an atmosphere where the
student feels accepted for who she/he is as an individual….In modeling
acceptance I also lay the foundation for respect.”
“I begin each school year with a discussion about profane and
derogatory language….and the damage it can inflict….and why it appears
that its use is okay. We
discover that profanity is not acceptable and that there are other ways to
express oneself….It is within this first lesson that I establish my
expectations of the students…”
“The time spent on study trips is invaluable to me.
I have watched as students experienced snow for the first
time…and the sea creatures present at low tide.
It is times such as these that the students tend to let their guard
down and become children eager to take in new sights and information.”
On Services to Continuation Education and to
One’s Community “[I]
decided to research school based community service and the potential
benefits of work for at-risk students.
…I developed a resource guide for school based community service
programs…The guide is designed to be a reference for educators wanting
to start community service projects.
It contains teacher friendly reproducible forms…”
“In leadership class my students documented the oral history on
video tape of senior citizens who were at 80 years or older who were born
or raised in our local community. The
students were amazed…” “Currently
the students are involved with our local senior citizen center through the
efforts of the city recreation department.
…The students and senior citizens look forward to the time they
spend together…” “Another…project…is
for the students to work at the Special Olympics annual track and field
event. This day is truly an emotional one…” “One of our monthly community service projects is making
holiday cards. The students
make a minimum of 250 holiday each month to be delivered with the meals to
the shut-in senior citizens within our county.
They have also made cards for the local veteran’s hospital…” “Since 1995,….[students] volunteer at the Kiwanis
Mother’s Day Pancake Breakfast…”
“The students have also been involved in helping at local
kindergarten classes…” “The
students take our community service projects seriously, as they realize
that they are contributing in a positive way to the needs of our
community.”
On Other Considerations “I want people to know that our students can and do succeed
in life. “…Our
students interact with their local community through community service
projects and through our screen-printing business. … The profits
earned…go back into our business plus fund all of our study trips,
activities on campus, and part of our graduation exercise.
Our study trips have included whale watching, museum visits,
California mission visits, snow trips, exploration of caves, observations
of elephant seal colonies, and studies of sea life found in the intertidal
zone. … My students design and print shirts for all the city recreation
department races as well as their annual golf tournaments…for the police
department Red Ribbon celebration…towels and polo shirts for county
probation department’s annual golf tournament… and the Sheriff
Activity League golf tournament….”
As you can see, Susan Lorraine Stone is a gifted
teacher. She is truly an
example of inspiration and dedication.
Congratulations, Susan, on being the CCEA Continuation Teacher of
the Year 2001/2002.
Susan Stone may be contacted at Donald C. Jamison
High School, 351 E
Bush St., Lemoore,
CA 93245. Phone: 559-924-6620. |
