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2008-2009 WHS Teacher of the Year |
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Gwen Lyda’s passion for learning is her driving force as a teacher. This passion translates to success in the classroom as demonstrated by being named the WHS 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year. Lyda, has been teaching math for 10 years, all of them at WHS. It is learning that keeps her motivated. The 1996 WHS graduate finds that the students teach her something every day. She considers them a wealth of information that teach her new ways of thinking, new technology, new approaches, and new teaching methods. Teaching is not without its challenges though. Lyda points out that it was an adjustment realizing that all students did not come from the same background as she did and that they carry around many burdens that she was not aware of until after she was married and some that she still can’t imagine. ”As a teacher you have to consider this. Students bring so much more to the desk than an open mind and a blank sheet of paper. As educators we have to support children in their journey outside of the classroom before we can ever begin the quest for knowledge inside the classroom,” said Lyda. In meeting some of these challenges Lyda employs a teaching philosophy of relevance and ownership. She feels that the students must see the relevance of the material they are learning in their lives right now or in the near future or they will be uninterested and unmotivated to learn. Lyda said, “as educators we must make the content of our subject relevant to our students’ lives.” She feels that students must also take ownership of the content. Just being able to recall information is not enough. “The point where a student can take the knowledge and apply it to different situations resulting in successful answers is true learning and the student has acquired ownership of the concept and can use it again and again in the future,” said Lyda. By varying her teaching style she tries to reach as many students as possible and engage them in learning. Lyda, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education, Mathematics from the University of South Carolina Spartanburg, is currently working on her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at Converse College. Lyda feels that many of her accomplishments in education center on technology, which intrigues her. She loves sharing her knowledge and experience in this area and would eventually like to pursue a position as a technology specialist or assistant principal and eventually a principal, possibly. However, right now she sees the perfect job as teaching half a day and working with technology the other half. Wanting a challenging, rewarding service oriented job involving mathematics lead her to a teaching career while her love for learning and being a positive role model for students while offering support and encouragement keep her there.
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