NSU to Host Celebration of Teaching

Northeastern State University will host groups of high school students from the region at the 11th annual Celebration of Teaching on Feb. 18.

The purpose of the program is to assist public school students, and especially minorities to have early, positive experiences with a college and those who educate teachers, said Dr. Deborah Landry, professor of Curriculum and Instruction at NSU-Broken Arrow, We hope many of those students will decide to become teachers.

The event is possible through a grant from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Minority Teacher Recruitment Center and hosts nearly 400 elementary, middle and high school students and regional teachers of the year from across the state, said Dr. Christee Jenlink, interim dean of NSU-BA.

For the last three years, we have also extended our outreach for this event to two elementary schools in Tulsa to help inspire them, particularly minority populations, to go to college and choose a career in teaching, Jenlink said.

The celebration includes a public keynote address by 2009 National Teacher of the Year Anthony J. Mullen and 2010 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year Brian M. Grimm in the NET Auditorium from 9:45-11:30 a.m.

A teacher can receive no greater reward then the knowledge that he or she helped recover a lost student, Mullen said before being named the National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama in a special White House ceremony. Mullen worked as a New York City police officer before entering a teaching career where he focuses on troubled students. Grimm teaches English and composition at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa.

Apathy is easy but change is a challenge," Grimm wrote in his portfolio. "Students must know that they are not a product of their environment, but rather through education and empowerment, their environment becomes a product of their resolve to change.

Grimm was recently named the 2010 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett. In addition to the address, invited high school students from across the state receive a luncheon and attend workshops with faculty from NSU and partner institutions including Tulsa Community College.

The workshops and speakers will serve to inspire and educate the students about the teaching profession, Landry said.