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Ken Nicholson,
Excellence in Teaching Awardee
Philosophy of Teaching
My educational philosophy begins with the quote, "Feed a man a fish,
you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish, you
feed him for a lifetime." I want my students to grow up
to be independent and happy adults than can problem
solve. The
subjects I teach lend themselves to this because
they are practical skills they will use throughout
their lifetime. All of my classes are hand-on and
the students are out of their seat and
engaged in the
lesson. My goal is to creatively present the curriculum
in a fun environment. I want my students to have
confidence in themselves and their work so they will go out and be
productive
citizens.
The education of my students also goes beyond the classroom. I
spend a lot of time with my students in working with
their animal projects after school and on weekends.
This gives me the opportunity to develop
a relationship with them and their parents. I believe
this has helped me as a teacher in the classroom
because my students know that
I have a true interest in their lives in and out
of school. It
is a satisfying feeling when my former students stop
by to visit me after they have graduated.
My educational philosophy ends with this motto from the National
FFA handbook, "Learning To Do, Doing to Learn, Earning
to Live, Living to Serve " This
is who I am and strive to be as a teacher of Agriculture
Science.
Educational
/ Professional Background
University Degrees
- B.S. – Texas A & M Commerce
Certifications
- IT Certification - University Texas at Tyler
Professional Associations
- Vocational Agricultural Teachers Association of Texas
- Collin County Junior Livestock Show Association
Employment History
2002 to Present - Plano East Senior High School
- Agricultural Science Teacher
- Floral Design, Wildlife, Home Maintenance Instructor
- Train leadership and career development teams
- FFA Advisor and Collin County Horticulture Chairman
- Supervisor of the Plano ISD Agricultural Project Center
1997 to 2002 - Allen High School
- Floral Design, Landscaping, Metal Fabrication, Horticulture, Ag Mechanics, Fruit-Nut and Vegetable, Animal Science Instructor
- Trained leadership and career development teams
- FFA Advisor
School
Principal's Recommendation
It is with such pleasure that I introduce to you
our Plano East Senior High 2005-2006 Experienced
Teacher of the Year, Kendall Nicholson. Known affectionately
as Ken, this dynamic young man serves as the team
leader of our agriculture department which has now
grown to include three full-time teachers. In
fact, our agriculture department at Plano East is
now the largest in the district in terms of staff
and student enrollment. It is my humble opinion
this is true primarily because of the efforts, personal
commitment, leadership and influence of Ken Nicholson.
Ken joined the Plano East staff before I arrived
in the fall of 2004. It took me only days to realize
this young man had a strong vision for the ag program
at Plano East. After observing him in the classroom
and all the numerous activities in which he's involved,
I also quickly learned that he's an outstanding
teacher who is loved and respected by his students,
by our entire staff, parents, community members and
the central office coordinators with whom he works.
Ken is absolutely tireless in his efforts to increase
student
enrollment in and build his program, to involve students
in the numerous campus, district, county and state
agriculture activities, and to maintain and improve
the campus and district agriculture facilities. Larry
Tucker just this year placed him in charge of our district
agriculture facility. He has clearly taken the
lead in pulling the agriculture teachers together across
the district numerous times on numerous issues.
In addition to all his activities associated with our agriculture
program, Ken is always there when we need him school-wide. We
would not even want to have graduation without him
there helping us line up and organize students; he
serves as a student monitor
at all our in-town football games (he's
SUCH a presence in that bright yellow "Event Staff " t-shirt;
even with that big smile always on his face, kids don't
even think of misbehaving at the stadium when he's there);
he not only purchased but cooked all the burgers and
hot dogs for our staff tailgate party; and he cooks and serves
a delicious barbeque dinner
to all our staff
once or twice each year. Well, there's no end to what he
does for our students, our staff, and our campus. (Oh,
I need to add that he and his Home Maintenance students
completely reroofed our deteriorating outdoor storage
shed.)
Ken Nicholson is, without a doubt, what teaching is all about. He
clearly loves students. He works tirelessly to enhance
the courses and level of instruction in each of the agriculture
classes. He's
a devoted family man and the strongest role model
you could ever hope for.
Within a huge school of 2600+ students, he brings
a sense of community and belonging to not only the
students who adore him, but to a huge staff
that is sometimes so very departmentalized. When we almost lost
Ken this past summer to another district that was
heavily recruiting him, I knew, while we could find
other teachers, we just couldn't
replace this positive, dynamic force for our students
and within our staff. What a happy day when we convinced him
to stay.
Certainly, I recommend wholeheartedly Ken Nicholson for the PISD Teacher
of the Year. His very essence represents what PISD
represents: excellence in education, teamwork and, above all, caring
about kids. He
is just the best.
Very sincerely,
Karen McDonald
Plano East Senior High School Principal
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