SAN ANTONIO – Local teachers got creative this year and found new ways to encourage and teach their students, all while experiencing some unforgettable moments of their own.
As 2019 winds down and we reach Christmas break, KSAT 12 is taking a look back at some of the positive school stories from the past year.
Area students benefited as dedicated teachers created unique rooms and used outside-the-box lessons to reach their children. They even took engaging field trips and took part in wedding proposals!
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KSAT 12 wants to continue to highlight teachers’ and students’ accomplishments. To read more about all the fun and exciting things that are going on in the classroom, head to KSAT’s new kid-friendly zone, KSAT Kids.
Do you know a classroom or school that is doing amazing work and deserves to be featured? You can nominate a student, teacher or school by emailing ksatkids@ksat.com.
Here are five of San Antonio’s most memorable and positive classroom stories from 2019:
1. San Antonio teacher creates replica Whataburger as play area for classroom
Teacher Javier Rubio in the Edgewood Independent School District built a replica of a Whataburger restaurant as a play area for his students at Cardenas Early Childhood Center. He created it as a way for students to learn vocabulary, social skills and mathematics.
“Students can pretend, imagine and be creative with the manipulatives in the center. They will learn and develop language, math, fine-motor, and social skills through pretend to play in the Whataburger,” he said.
2. Teacher uses dancing, popular music to teach science
Lea McFarthing’s 6th grade class might look like a music class or recess, but it’s actually a science class.
“If they can learn the lyrics to Cardi B, then they can definitely learn about potential kinetic energy through music too,” McFarthing said.
McFarthing decided to implement a different approach to learning.
“My goal was to make it fun for them. I have talked to several parents and they’re all, like, they talk about science all the time now. I even sent links of the songs that I use to parents, so that way they can do it at home, as well,” McFarthing said.
3. Local students celebrate STEM by turning Leoland into their classroom
Students at Cornerstone Christian Schools took a trip to Legoland as a way to emphasize the STEM curriculum.
"It takes a lot of math, especially some engineering and stuff to make sure the structures fit together properly, and they are strong and sturdy enough to stand up to wear and tear and everything," said Kevin Hintz, a master model builder.
Hintz is in charge of coming up with the creations at Legoland and said it can be a perfect opportunity to teach.
“I just hope that they (the students) come and enjoy themselves,” Hintz said. “They have fun and they can actually learn some valuable life lessons. They learn STEM skills and stuff without necessarily knowing that they’re learning, or having the pressure of learning while being in a fun environment.”
4. Pleasanton teacher greets each of 123 students with personal handshake
Students in coach Tim Salinas’ algebra class weren’t the only ones having to master some difficult formulas. Salinas, who teaches Algebra I and coaches football and basketball at Pleasanton High School, tasked himself with memorizing a specific handshake for each of his 123 students.
Salinas said he started the personalized handshakes with some of his students four years ago. The next year, he decided to do it with every one of his students.
“I wanted to find a way to connect with students, where they would enjoy coming to my class, and it also gave me a way to implement my growth mindset,” Salinas said.
5. San Antonio cheer team helps hunky hornet propose to coach
And lastly, a local area teacher had a memorable moment of her own after she was proposed to with the help of her high school cheer team.
Natalie Earthman teaches 10th grade English at East Central High School and is also the school’s cheer coach.
On Halloween night she was on the football field when her cheerleaders went off-script, holding up four signs that said “WILL” “YOU” “MARRY” “ME.”
Earthman started looking around to see who the big stunt was directed toward, and then her boyfriend, Jorge Gutierrez, ran out on the track dressed as a hornet, the school’s mascot.
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