Getting through to seventh-graders is not easy, especially for a teacher.<\/p>\n
But every day in Room 29 at Mattson Middle School, Andrea Hemphill is doing everything she can to reach the rows of sometimes-surly 12-year-olds who file in for their daily science lessons.<\/p>\n
And Hemphill seems to be getting through, using a high-energy approach and a simple philosophy: \u201cYou gotta make it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to be fun and exciting for them.\u201d Hemphill said. \u201cPeriod.\u201d<\/p>\n
In today\u2019s day and age of fast edits, multimedia and multitasking, Hemphill says the secret to her success involves making sure she tries to do two things in each class: to grab the kids\u2019 attention and to hook them into the lesson.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just give them a variety,\u201d she said. \u201cWhatever you can do to capture (their attention), that\u2019s their reasoning to do other activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whatever she\u2019s doing, it must be working.<\/p>\n
Hemphill, 32, was recently named the 2008 Washington Middle School Science Teacher of the Year by the Washington Science Teachers Association.<\/p>\n
Hemphill said the award is a nice recognition, but she is just doing her job.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny teacher you talk to is doing their best,\u201d she said. \u201cIt feels a little weird to be singled out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hemphill has been at Mattson for nine years, the first as a student teacher and the rest in her own classroom. Principal Steve Beck said in that time, she has become a leader in the building and a favorite among students.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of the reasons he nominated her for the award.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has been a leader ever since she came into the building,\u201d Beck said. \u201cBut all that pales in comparison to the passion she has for teaching kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hemphill, originally from Auburn, said her passions for science were stirred by her Advanced Placement biology teacher at Auburn High School, Clare Nance, who made science fun for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gets a lot of credit,\u201d Hemphill said of Nance, who still teaches at Auburn Mountainview High School.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was just a really dynamic teacher. We did lots of hands-on things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hemphill carries on the \u201chands-on\u201d tradition, trying to engage the kids the same way her favorite teacher engaged her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe make it as hands-on as possible,\u201d she said of her classes. \u201cI think they respond to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hemphill said Nance inspired her to study biology – \u201cMy first love\u201d – at the University of Washington, but academic research bored her and the thought of getting into a classroom was always there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I knew from an early age I liked teaching,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m more of a people person. I like dealing with kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hemphill\u2019s love of science is obvious and she even relates it to her own life, talking about how every day she uses the scientific method – the idea of creating and testing a hypothesis and then revising that hypothesis based on the experiment\u2019s results – to evaluate what works in her class and what does not.<\/p>\n
She also was forced to take a hard look at her teaching style while earning her national Board Certification, which requires analysis of videotaped lessons.<\/p>\n
She urges all teachers to be self-reflective about what they do to help find new ways to reach kids they might not be reaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t work, don\u2019t do it. Change it,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Hemphill said she\u2019s also learned that if she can find a way to tell a personal story and connect science to real life, the better.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a teacher, I think the more firsthand knowledge you have of the things you\u2019re teaching, the better for the kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For example, on a recent vacation with her fiance – also a teacher, though not science – Hemphill brought back a fossil of two flies trapped in amber that she passed around to show the class.<\/p>\n
For students like Terence Grady, 12, that makes all the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery subject we learn she makes more fun,\u201d he said, citing the fossils specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like this class because instead of just trying to teach us boring stuff, she makes it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauren Hackett, 12, agreed, adding that compared to some of her other classes, Hemphill\u2019s is more engaging and interesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s probably my favorite teacher,\u201d Hackett said. \u201cShe works with us through a lot of things instead of telling us what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hemphill said she draws a lot of energy and inspiration from the kids, whose first question is always \u201cWhat are we going to do today?\u201d (Well, it\u2019s either that or \u201cCan we blow things up?\u201d)<\/p>\n
Beck describes her room as a place where \u201cscience comes alive, you\u2019re not reading from a book.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s neat when a people who deserve it get recognized,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n
Along with the honor of the award, Hemphill will receive a certificate and a $500 honorarium.<\/p>\n
She also was honored recently at a regional dinner with other award-winning science teachers from Washington and Oregon.<\/p>\n
But while the award is nice reminder that she is doing things right, Hemphill said she will continue teaching every day because she enjoys the challenge and the work of trying to reach students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see myself staying in the classroom a while longer,\u201d she said. \u201cI just enjoy the kids a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, I feel like I am doing what I\u2019m meant to be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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