Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/45838
Making a difference Sue Gleason develops good chemistry with her students - by Mary Cleary One of Delaware's five Presidential Awardee finalists, Middletown's Sue Gleason says, "To meet our students' needs, teachers must know their students. Lesson plans should yield time to teachable moments that meet those needs." " DuPont Company motto when Sue Gleason accepted her first after-col- lege job there as a chemist in 1968. This year her motto might be "Things are Better Through Chemistry Teaching," now that she's a finalist for The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Not only is it the highest honor in the United States for math and sci- ence teachers, each state's winner receives $10,000. "After I was nominated I almost B didn't apply. Then I decided to go through with it, but there are moments when I'm not sure why," says the modest 64-year-old. "I don't plan to retire, and there are times I realize how much I've learned about teaching kids. I want to hold on to that, to share that." Gleason has taught sciences at Middletown High School in the Appoquinimink School District for 25 years, the last 20 as Science Department Chair, and coached track and girls' volleyball. Gleason has earned National Board Certification in Chemistry, co-authored three publications, and etter Things for Better Living…Through Chemistry" was the extra help to catch up. Yet, on more than one occasion, the girl told her she wasn't explaining something very well. The next fall, quite unexpectedly, she received an e-mail from the girl who thanked her for preparing her so well for college chemistry. "I was stunned. It made my day, and also reminded me that we don't always know which students we have an impact on." Girls are not afraid of science Gleason dismisses any idea that Since 2000, Sue Gleason has been working with secondary science pre-service teachers at the University of Delaware, which honored her with the Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy in 2007. served on many advisory boards and committees. She has made five presentations at national conven- tions for science teachers and even shared a paper at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2007. Gleason participated in plenty of professional development, too, though the self-described NASCAR fan cites last February's "Driving Science-Connecting STEM Education and Motorsport Careers," held at the Daytona International Speedway, as a favorite. Biggest success is meeting student needs "When someone asks me what I teach, I say 'Kids!' then I say, 'Oh, you want to know what I teach to them…science!'" she relates with a laugh. "Teaching kids is more important than teaching curricu- lum." Gleason knows a lot about cur- riculum. She served on the Delaware Science Content Standards Prioritizing Committee in 2009, and this year is on the training committee for Natural Approach to Chemistry. This new approach guides students through open-ended investigations based on inquiry, rather than the 'cookbook experiments' of the past, she says. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) pro- vides the mindset for design, prob- lem-solving and application activi- ties that require lots of time to com- plete. Standardized testing and other factors place even more time constraints on open-ended inquiries. But Gleason knows kids, too. Nicknamed "The Pragmatist" for her time management skills, Gleason still advises teachers to keep an eye on what's going on in the world. "If kids have questions, they want the answers," she says. "Lesson plans should yield time to teachable moments that meet their needs." Indeed, the desire and ability to meet students' needs is the founda- tion of her teaching. "There are so many needy kids," she says. " 'Needy' can be defined in so many ways. Some need attention, compas- sion, someone to care." And Gleason listens. "Every kid in front of you has a story, and every story is different, she says. "To meet their needs, teachers must know their kids." Gleason recalls a senior girl in her chemistry class a few years ago who often appeared 'lost' in class, in part due to absences. Because she was a college-bound student and eager to learn, Gleason gave her 24 October 2011 DSEA ACTION! www.dsea.org this child had difficulty in science because she's a girl. "In my chem- istry class this year there are eleven girls and nine boys. In my honors ninth-grade class there are eighteen girls and thirteen boys. I think it's safe to say that girls are not afraid!" Gleason herself fell in love with chemistry in junior high. The teacher was a woman. At the University of Illinois, she was one of only two female chemistry majors in a group of 42, she says. "I was never told that 'girls can't.' There was the expectation that I would go to college for my B.S., not my Mrs.," she says with a grin. "My father valued education and made it clear that if I chose to marry before graduation, the college savings would be used for the wedding." Gleason married an army man a year after she began working at the DuPont Company. After raising four daughters, she returned to school for education courses and became a teacher at age 39. Gleason earned her master of Instruction degree from the University of Delaware in 1994, 26 years after accepting that first job as a chemist. "Teaching is a calling," she says. "If you're in it for a job, you're in the wrong line of work." Mary Cleary, now retired, is a former Nationally Board Certified reading resource teacher, having taught for nearly 40 years in the Christina School District. You can reach her at mmary marble@msn. com .