From numbers and test tubes to jump ropes and dodgeballs, though their subjects are very different, they’re mission is the same ? prepare today’s youth to meet tomorrow’s challenges.
As a reward for their daily dedication to this important mission, Oxford teachers Paul McDevitt, Shanie Williams and Pam Molik were selected to be the school district’s nominees for the 2004-05 Oakland County Outstanding Teacher of the Year Awards.
Each of the 28 school districts in the county selects three teachers at the high school, middle school and elementary levels to be nominees for county Teacher of the Year at their respective level.
The three county-wide winners will be announced the first week of April. However, all the district nominees will be recognized May 4 during a special event at the Oakland Schools administrative building in Waterford.
Introducing Oxford’s 2004-05 nominees:
Paul McDevitt
‘I was flattered,? said McDevitt of his nomination. ‘It’s a good feeling to know your peers appreciate the work you do.?
McDevitt has taught math and science at Oxford High School for the last six years and currently coaches the varsity wrestling team. Prior to that, he taught four years at Oxford Middle School.
‘There’s a lot of good teachers here that could be up for this award,? he said. ‘To be selected among these guys means a lot.?
McDevitt’s passion for teaching is natural, but his interest in the profession is more accidental.
While attending college at Eastern Michigan University in the early 1990s to obtain a degree in structural engineering, McDevitt accidentally enrolled in a class about teaching high school math.
‘I though it was a math credit, but it was actually an education credit,? he said explaining he didn’t learn this until halfway through the course.
Because he wasn’t enrolled in the university’s College of Education, McDevitt learned he would lose the credit causing him to also lose his status as a full-time student and thus be ineligible to continue wrestling for EMU during his senior year.
Fearful of losing his wrestler, McDevitt’s coach discussed the matter with the dean who indicated the only way for McDevitt to keep the credit was if he was accepted to the College of Education.
Over the spring and summer, McDevitt ‘took a bunch of education classes? to gain entry into the college. But the funny thing was although he started out doing all this just to keep wrestling, McDevitt actually liked the education classes.
‘Each class I took I enjoyed more than any of the other classes I had taken in college,? he said.
Although he was ‘very close? to obtaining his degree in structural engineering and already working part-time for a company in that field, McDevitt found that teaching was a ‘natural fit? and ‘so much more me.?
Eleven years after graduating EMU, McDevitt is enjoying every minute of being a teacher and coach in Oxford.
‘The day-to-day interaction with students is by far the most rewarding part of the job,? he said. ‘It’s also the challenging part of the job.?
McDevitt also finds it rewarding and humbling when former students come back to visit and tell him that his efforts in the classroom made life easier for them in college or they use notes from his class rather than ones from the professor.
‘Or when they remember you as someone influential in their life. When they let you know you made a difference,? he added. ‘And if you do a good job, you get that a lot.?
‘Things like that make you think all that hard work I put in was worthwhile,? McDevitt said.
Shanie Williams
‘I was pretty excited,? said Williams of her nomination. ‘I can’t believe I got it. I’m still shocked.?
Williams teaches physical education and health to the kindergartners through second-graders at Daniel Axford. She’s worked at the school for seven years, although her first year she divided her time between DA and Lakeville Elementary
Williams? love of teaching is so genuine and pure you can see it in her smile and hear it in her voice.
Her decision to become an educator occurred in her junior year of high school in Onsted, Michigan when she served as a teacher’s assistant in a first-grade class.
‘There was this one special student,? she said. ‘When I met her I knew right then and there I wanted to be a teacher.?
Since then everything in Williams? life has ‘revolved around kids and schools.?
Prior to Oxford in the early-to-mid 1990s, Williams taught physical education and social studies to various elementary and middle school grades in Adrian and Onsted. She even taught a health class for pregnant teens in Adrian.
Williams? natural love of children is quite obvious.
‘They make me laugh,? she said. ‘I love the little pictures they draw for me.?
Williams said she enjoys going outside with the kids for recess, eating lunch with them, having conversations with them and generally just ‘being there for them.?
Her position as physical education and health teacher at DA affords Williams the opportunity to work in both the gym and classroom.
‘I’ve got the best of both worlds,? she said. ‘I got exactly what I wanted.?
In addition to her teaching duties, Williams also coordinates the school’s annual Jump Rope for Heart, served as Steering Committee Co-Chair during DA’s five-year North Central Accreditation improvement process and participated in writing the district’s K-5 Physical Education and Health curriculum.
Outside of school, Williams is still involved with kids by serving as a board member with Oxford Addison Youth Assistance.
As for what’s next in her career, Williams said she’s currently working toward obtaining an Education Specialist Degree in Leadership.
‘My next goal is to become a principal,? she said. But don’t worry, she plans to be an Oxford principal.
‘I don’t plan on leaving Oxford,? she said. ‘I love this district.?
Pam Molik
Molik is a math and science teacher at Oxford Middle School. Unfortunately, Molik had to attend to some personal business this week, so the Leader was unable to interview her for this story.
However, a story on her nomination for Outstanding Teacher of the Year at the middle school level will appear in next week’s issue.
Other nominees
Four other elementary school teachers were nominated for the district-level Outstanding Teacher of the Year. They are ? Jackie Wiscombe (third-grade teacher at Clear Lake); Julie Cote (first-grade teacher at Lakeville); Linda Dzurka (art teacher at Leonard and Lakeville); and Barbara Johnston (fourth-grade teacher at Oxford Elementary).