By Chris Hagan
Review Staff Writer
Lake Orion High School English teacher Joshua Hosler personifies what being a great teacher means.
For his efforts helping Lake Orion students, he has been honored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for his attentive and caring attitude towards his students.
Hosler shares the award with 12 other educators who were also recognized from across the country.
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards announced Friday, March 20 the 13 recipients which included Hosler and two other educators from Michigan.
All recipients are honored along with the student nominating them on a website dedicated to inspirational teachers and each teacher will receive $10,000.
Hosler, who’s taught at Lake Orion for 10 years, was nominated by his former student and now Michigan State undergrad, Taylor Fasseel.
Fasseel was in the 10th grade and Hosler was teaching one of his favorite novels ? ‘The Catcher in the Rye? by J.D. Salinger.
Fasseel excelled greatly in her reading ability but wasn’t as confident in expressing her opinions or questions to the classroom. Hosler noticed her lack of participation and made it a point to ask Fasseel her thoughts on the novel. After class, she would often stay to discuss view points with Hosler and various interpretations of the 1951 classic.
‘I never thought highly of my reading skills. So I just thought I didn’t like reading and he convinced me otherwise,? Fasseel said.
Throughout the course of the novel and Fasseel’s high school career, she continued to stay after to interpret the ideas of other novels and pieces of literature.
Fasseel reached the maximum amount of English credits and Hosler was able to be Fasseel’s last English teacher before her graduation in 2013.
‘She would put forth to me ideas of what she thought the book meant and I’d bounce ideas off her,? Hosler said. ‘I probably learned just as much from it as she did.?
Fasseel was searching for a ‘teacher of the year? type award when she stumbled upon the Kennedy Center Award. It just so happened the day she discovered the award it was due that night at midnight, something Fasseel can only credit as fate that lead her to the award.
‘I’ve been extremely lucky to have gone to a district like Lake Orion. There have been a lot of great teachers and administrators that I’ve had along the way,? she said. ‘He has gone above and beyond what I think any teacher should be asked to do. He just always has been there for me.?
Hosler received an email just before boarding a flight bound for New York City informing him of the award. Hosler, who noted the irony that the plot for ‘The Catcher and the Rye? was based in New York City, perceived it to be junk mail until he saw Fasseel’s name.
‘I was going to delete it until I saw Taylor’s name and thought it was pretty serious,? Hosler said. ‘So after we landed and got to the hotel I had to send them all of my credentials.?
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award was created in 2010 in honor of composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.
Sondheim frequently attributes his success to the teachers in his life. The awards are presented each year around Sondheim’s birthday, March 22, to a select group of teachers.
‘Teachers define us,? stated Sondheim. ‘In our early years, when we are still being formed, they often see in us more than we see in ourselves, more even than our families see and, as a result, help us to evolve into what we ultimately become.?
Teacher nominees for this award must have taught in a K-12 school, college or university in the United States. A panel of judges reviews a pool of nominations and selects the recipients based on the power and quality of the nomination from their former students.
‘The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award is a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the terrific work teachers do in their communities every day,? said Darrell M. Ayers, Vice President of Education and Jazz at the Kennedy Center. ‘We see the difference teachers can make first hand through our work in schools across the country, and are grateful for all they accomplish.?