Vote for Montgomery County Middle School Finalists

About Martha E. Brach

“I did not like social studies when I was in school,” says Martha E. Brach. “Later, I realized that I did like the subject but not the way it was taught. I love history, politics, geography, etc. and seemingly have a talent for imparting the material in a fun and meaningful way. I decided to teach social studies so that other students would hopefully obtain a love, or at least an appreciation, of history and the social sciences.”

Brach, who also teaches religion at Holy Cross School in Montgomery County, earned a B.A. in History and a Social Studies Secondary Education Endorsement from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Her M.A. is in American History from George Mason University.

A favorite moment for this 15-year classroom veteran involved a student who did not want to be in her class. “He thought I would be too strict and that he could not handle it,” she says. “On the last day of school, after dismissal, I found on my desk a handwritten note on stationary from this young man. He expressed his appreciation saying I had taught him ‘respect, accountability, trust, honesty, and politeness.’ Unsolicited notes such as this one and, of course, the Gazette nomination make all the hard work worthwhile.”

The best piece of advice Brach has received came from Jim Fay of the Love and Logic Institute. “The one thing I have learned that really changed my teaching is to not dole out a consequence immediately upon the infraction of a rule or an incident,” she says. “Allow time for the student to think about his or her actions and allow time for you as the teacher to reflect on the incident and the situation. When dealing with the student, allow the student to take ownership of the behavior and then they will learn more and become a better person.”

About Cindy Connolly

“Take it one day at a time and enjoy something every day with your students,” is the advice that Cindy Connolly, a 25-year teaching veteran would offer as advice to those considering a career in education. At Neelsville Middle School in Montgomery County, Connolly teaches science to students in grades 6 through 8.

Were she not a teacher, Connolly would be a pet sitter, she says, “because I love animals!” Her love for animals is evident in what she views as her favorite moment as a teacher. “A student brought me six abandoned duck eggs. My class and I placed them in an incubator and took care of them for a month. The ducklings hatched and followed me around school until we released them to a local pond.”

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Connolly was influenced by her 5th-grade teacher, Mrs. Wagner. “She was always a lady, showing patience and kindness to all,” she says.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics, is one of the people Connolly admires most. “She appreciated the fact that everyone should feel good about themselves and their accomplishments,” she says.

About Paul Heinemann

“Love what you do and do what you love. If you don’t think you will love teaching, don’t do it…the students deserve and need more.” That’s the advice Paul Heinemann, the choral director at Rocky Hill Middle School in Montgomery County, offers to those who are thinking about becoming a teacher.

Heinemann, who planned to become a professional trumpet player, majored in Music Education as fallback. He quickly realized, however, that he needed more human interaction than sitting in a practice room 4-6 hours a day provided. So, he put that B.S. degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania to work. “It is my goal to help students define their personalities and develop their character using music as a vehicle,” he says.

There have been numerous moments that remind Heinemann why he continues to teach. Last spring, he attended the senior recital for a former student who was graduating from The Catholic University of America with a major in Musical Theatre. When he taught her, “she was extremely gifted but lacked confidence,” he says. “I encouraged her and tried to push her to realize her potential and ability. At the time, I did not realize the impact I had on her. To me, I was doing what I felt and knew was in her best interest and what I would want someone to do for my child – encourage, motivate and push them towards what they were capable of achieving. Someone once told me that ‘teaching is like planting seeds that you don’t always get to see grow.’ Seeing the fruition of that planted seed over the course of 10 years blossom into an amazing talent realizing her goal was a great reward for me!”

Were he not a teacher, Heinemann would be “dueling piano bar player, pro golfer or simply independently wealthy,” he says. “Currently, I wish I were running the Washington Redskins – oh, the changes I would make. However, I love my job and can’t imagine doing anything different.”

About Aaron Scott Houghton

Aaron Scott Houghton loves to teach. “I am qualified to be an administrator,” he says. “I planned on becoming a vice principal, but I love teaching history so much. I love to help my students become better writers. I help them figure out why our country was formed and how our government works. I am also able to draw on their experiences and background knowledge to help them understand difficult concepts. At the end of every day I know that I have made a positive influence in all of my students’ lives even if it was small. I also teach because it allows me to coach cross country and track as well. Right now we are undefeated in Cross Country.”

Houghton received his undergrad degree in Elementary Education from the University of Maryland. He holds a master’s in Educational Administration from Trinity University. He currently teaches 8th-grade U.S. History at Takoma Park Middle School.

The best advice Houghton’s received during his decade in the classroom is “to be fair and remember that the more structured the lesson was the better the results would be,” he says. He tells prospective teachers to: “Make sure that they knew how hard it is to be a great teacher and if they don’t want to give 100% of their time to their profession then they should consider a desk job somewhere making more money. Being a teacher isn’t about how much you make, but what you get out of it.”

The person Houghton most admires is his father. “He had very little formal education, but he was someone who started his own business and taught me how to be very handy,” he says.

About Darshan Jain

Darshan Jain loves his classroom at Herbert Hoover Middle School. “[It’s] the only place where people will laugh at my jokes,” he says.

Jain, who attended the University of Maryland at College Park, has two undergraduate degrees. One is in English Literature; the other is in Secondary English Education. This Montgomery County educator has been teaching for three years.

The best advice he has received as a teacher is: “Even though it may not seem like it, the years do go by fast, so enjoy every moment,” he says. The advice he offers prospective teachers is: “It’s okay to make mistakes; you can learn a lot from them.”

Were he not a teacher, Jain might well be a sports writer. “My first love has always been sports,” he says. “I did some reporting for the Prince George’s Journal and loved every second of it.”

It was Jain’s 6th-grade teacher who most influenced him. “Mr. Ballard had this way of simplifying things and talked a lot about life in general. He would also fling pieces of chalk at students that weren’t paying attention,” says Jain.

The person Jain most admires is his mother. “She held three jobs and worked seven days a week to support me and my sister,” he says.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is “my all time favorite book,” says Jain. “I think the first line says it all: ‘My father once said something to me that has stuck with me my whole life. Whenever you feel the need to criticize someone, just remember that they haven't had the advantages you had.”

About John Keller

“Kids are our most important resource and I decided to invest in them,” says John Keller, who’s been making that investment for 42 years. Keller teaches U.S. History at Herbert Hoover Middle School in Montgomery County.

Keller earned a B.A. in Political Science from DePauw University and a M.A., also in Political Science, from The Ohio State University. Had he not become a teacher, Keller would have been a journalist.

His favorite moment as a teacher came several years ago when a student came back to visit him. “[She] told me that the most important thing I did for her was to challenge her to think,” he says.

The best advice Keller has received during his more than four decades as a teacher came indirectly, as he watched an assistant principal suspend a student. “At the end of the conversation, the student stood up and shook the hand of the administrator,” says Keller. “I have strived to be like that – be fair, be strong, and respect the student.”

To those considering a career in education, Keller offers this advice: “Give it a try; if you’re meant to be a teacher you’ll soon know and then it’s where you have to be,” he says.

The teacher who most influenced Keller was his high school government teacher. “We discussed important things and he made us feel that we were an essential part of the class,” he says.

Keller admires “anyone who believes in transformation,” he says and points to Bobby Kennedy as an example. “In his younger years Bobby Kennedy was a rather tough, hard-nosed person; his brother’s death helped transform him into a very compassionate person.”

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is Keller’s favorite book. “It helped me understand the essence of wisdom and loving kindness; now I work to achieve them,” he says.

About Constance Y. Lee

“I teach because I believe in hope, and what better hope is there to believe in than in our children?” says Constance Y. Lee. “I believe that human beings, right now, can do better, even when we are at our best, so if we can do better now, our children will do even better as they learn and mature and experience the world around them. What they learn, who they become, is a direct result of what adults teach them, consciously, or unconsciously, whether it be in the classroom or at home.”

A theater teacher at A. Mario Loiederman School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Montgomery County, Lee has spent 15 years in the classroom. She holds a B.F.A. from Howard University and a M.Ed. from Mount Saint Mary’s College.

As an educator, Lee sees three important issues that teachers need to address. The first is closing the gap between minority students and others. “For me it means insuring that all children, no matter their race or economic background, have every opportunity to learn, every opportunity to reach their full potential and the skills and knowledge to become a global citizen,” she says.

Lee believes that no single teaching behavior is universally effective. “Teachers need a wide repertoire of effective strategies that can serve to improve achievement in specific teaching situations,” she says. “I believe in doing whatever works to help my students to achieve.”

Critical thinking, adds Lee, is the cornerstone and foundation of assessment. “If we can teach a student to think then we are creating life-long learners,” she says. “Critical thinking requires rigor. I am a rigorous teacher with high expectations for all of my students.”

About Christina Lynch

“I like being able to do something new every day, and the kids always keep my job exciting,” says Christina Lynch. This 6th-grade English teacher at Neelsville Middle School in Montgomery County has been teaching for three years.

One of her favorite moments in the classroom came from “watching my kids perform Shakespeare and seeing all of their hard work pay off,” she says. “Shakespeare is really difficult to understand, and they keep trying until they get it.”

The best piece of advice she’s received as a teacher is to “let kids take responsibility for their jobs as students,” she says. The advice she would offer someone contemplating a career as a teacher would be to “get to know your students. You’ll end up learning from them, too.”

It was her 11th-grade English teacher, Mr. Goldstein, who most influenced Lynch. “[He] gave me my first ever ‘D’ on a writing assignment,” she says. After that, I was determined never to get another ‘D’ again.”

Lynch admires her sister who currently is earning a Ph.D. in School Psychology. “She works really hard and shows me that there are all kinds of possibilities in life if you keep working,” she says.

The Giver by Lois Lowry is Lynch’s favorite book. “The imagery in the story is really strong, and it leaves you with an open ending that keeps you wondering,” she says. “Plus, it’s a book that gets my kids excited about reading.”

About Dave Milauskas

“I enjoy math, and I want to try to help students enjoy the subject that I enjoy,” says Dave Milauskas, a math teacher at Briggs Chaney Middle School. “I still tend to have the maturity level and stubbornness of a middle schooler, so I fit right in,” he says. If he weren’t a teacher Milauskas would be a “sports announcer, baker, mortician, or some occupation where I could combine all three.”

Now in his 22nd year as a teacher, Milauskas received a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Pittsburgh. He has done graduate coursework in Mathematics Education at the University of Maryland.

Those who most influenced his teaching include “a couple of unnamed math teachers from my youth who seemed like they tried their best to make math uninteresting,” says Milauskas. “I always hated that and tried to remember it when I became a teacher.”

The best advice he’s received as a teacher: “Be yourself,” he says. Advice he offers to those pondering a career in education: “Let the kids see that you are a person, not just their teacher.”

Those he most admires include his parents. “My father for showing me, not telling me, the value of hard work in your life,” he says. “My mother for teaching me to ask questions, and to stick to your guns if you think you are right, even if it gets you in trouble.”

His favorite reads include anything by Edgar Allan Poe or Kurt Vonnegut.

About Debra White

Teaching is not just a job to Debra White. “I teach because it is what I am meant to do,” she says. “ I love helping others, especially my students, be it with their algebra struggles or with any other struggles they present to me.”

An algebra teacher at Briggs Chaney Middle School in Montgomery County, White received her B.A. in Elementary Education from Holy Family College in Philadelphia, Penn. and her M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from McDaniel College in Westminster, Md. The best advice she’s received as a teacher is to be flexible. “If a lesson isn’t working, it is okay to stop in the middle and change it up until the students understand,” she says. She suggests to those looking at a career in education to “do it for the love of children, the love of learning, and the love of teaching.”

The teacher who most influenced White was her 9th grade English teacher, Ms. Susan Walters. “She taught me how to recognize the best ways for me to study and learn. I remember I always had trouble remembering how to spell the word ‘weird’ One day she showed me a trick to remember that the ‘e’ came after the ‘w’ by having me remember that ‘WE are Weird.’ I use a lot of tricks/tips when I teach Algebra because of Ms. Walters’ advice.”

Another educator White admires is Mrs. Rise Gaines “because of her never-ending devotion to children and their ability to be successful, as well as her consistent support of me as an educator, even after all the years I have been teaching without physically seeing her day after day,” she says.