Teacher Andy Felt knows a thing or two about struggling to stay in school, and he also knows the value of having a teacher who could help him turn that struggle into success.
“I had a pretty severe case of ADD as a child, and by the time I was 16, I was failing many classes and was ready to drop out of school,” he said. “Many of the people who knew me as a teenager are very surprised to find out that I am now a teacher.”
And not only is Felt “a teacher,” these days, this high school science instructor was chosen by his peers as this year’s system-wide “Teacher of the Year,” a mark of teaching excellence.
Felt’s journey to this point has not been a straight path, but one that has taken several twists and turns. It began at a new high school where his parents hoped to give him a “fresh start.” And it was there, he said, that he found himself in classrooms with several excellent teachers, one in particular.
“(He) made me realize that school didn’t have to be about taking endless notes and listening to lectures,” Felt said. “Mr. Kesler was a first-year social studies teacher who had the kind of magical enthusiasm that infects his students.” Some of that enthusiasm translated to a new interest in school for Felt.
“We studied U.S. History from the context of major Supreme Court cases, and we constructed a courtroom with donated lumber in his classroom after school,” he said.
Students were the lawyers in this classroom, and they had to conduct research to write law briefs and try the cases before the judge, a part played enthusiastically by Mr. Kesler.
“In that one year, I went from re-taking social studies in summer school to making a ‘5’ on the AP U.S. history exam,” Felt said. “My level of engagement in the content made all the difference, and even though I did not consider teaching until several years later, the experience I had with good teachers like Mr. Kesler made me view the profession in a different light.”
After working at several manual labor jobs after high school, Felt went back to school to study forestry.
While taking classes in chemistry and biology, Felt said he realized he had a talent for explaining scientific concepts to members of his study group. You might say it was an “ah ha” moment for him.
At that point he decided to pursue a degree in science education at UGA.
As his studies continued, he also found that there were few things he enjoyed more than when his 2-year old daughter Cait asked him to “tell her something about science” on their long walks through the woods.
He began teaching at Madison County High School 15 years ago as a tenth grade physical science teacher. These days he teaches ninth grade physical science at the freshman academy and still loves what he does. His wife Shannon also works for the school system, so each day they, along with Cait, now an 11th grader, and son, Drew, a seventh grader, make the 45-minute commute to Madison County from their home in Elberton.
“We enjoy the family time,” Felt said.
He also enjoys the classroom time spent with his students each day.
“One thing I have learned is that science teaching is far more effective when we have the physical materials needed to support active student learning,” Felt said. With that in mind, he has successfully written several grants, totaling over $765,000, over the past year to obtain the technology tools and lab materials that are now used in his classroom on a regular basis. The grant money has also provided the same materials for math, science, and agriculture classes in both the middle and high school.
And as he teaches, Felt is also continuing as a student, working toward his doctorate degree. But he says he has no intention of leaving his Madison County classroom. Besides teaching high school, he also serves as an adjunct professor at Piedmont College.
“I hope to engage in more extensive teaching at the college level when I complete my degree in December, but I still intend to remain right where I am in the science classroom because it makes me happy and because I believe it makes me a better college instructor,” Felt said.
One of his greatest joys is serving as director of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program, which helps students and teachers alike embrace technology and use it to educational advantage.
“In the writing of the STEM and Race to the Top grants, we have developed numerous partnerships with private industries and nonprofit organizations like the Broad River Watershed Association and the Madison County Cattleman’s Association,” Felt said. “These partnerships will help our students to engage learning in the context of real-world problem solving and help develop responsible citizens.”
While he revels in the success of implementing new technology in the classroom to help his students be ready to succeed, he knows that the first quality he or any teacher needs is to have strong sense of caring for their students. “Even when caught up in the content of what I am teaching, I do my best to stay constantly aware of the signals that students send revealing their state of mind,” Felt said. “In addition to staying alert to signs that a student may need some encouragement, sympathy, or assistance from a caring adult, we (teachers) need to make sure that all students feel secure in our classrooms. This means listening to students and making sure that they are treating one another with respect – character education is crucial.”
Felt said he tries to instill the knowledge and skills that students will need so that they feel they have many options open to them when they leave his classroom.
“I try to remember daily what I learned from Mr. Kesler; that I can teach in a way that challenges my students academically while still conveying my enjoyment of the career I have chosen,” Felt said.
And he regrets that he never had the opportunity to tell Mr. Kesler the impact he had on his life.
“He moved away before I went into teaching, and he will probably never know that by his influence on me, he has indirectly impacted so many other students over the course of my career,” he said. “But I have had the privilege several times of having my former students tell me that I helped them decide to enter the teaching profession, and I cannot think of any greater honor as an educator.”
Mr. Felt's teaching talents come directly out of his own learning difficulties in the same way that the best psychologists are those who have experienced emotional problems themselves and have learned to deal successfully with them. You don't want to undergo therapy with a couselor of excellent emotional health; they can never fully relate to you.
Anytime a human being is different, it is human nature to shun that person. We all have to suppress that deeply ingrained reaction in order to not miss out on the tremendous talents that can be wrought from them. Anyone dealing with cattle (or autism) knows Temple Grandin (look her up if you don't!).
America's educational system is failing badly. We throw more and more money at it and accept more and more poorly qualified teachers. It is the teachers that matter, not the buildings, the gyms, the athletic fields and equipment, the art supplies, the musical instruments or the band uniforms. It is the teachers who can inspire and teach with out the best of supplies and equipment as Mr. Felt has done. Think what could be done with all the money spent on athletics in the school systems if it was spent on science and technology materials. This is what the world out there demands, not art or football. Those endeavors should happen outside the educational system; the Madison County Recreational Department is a good example.
In this age of the internet, if a person can be found, they will be found by using the world wide web. Mr. Felt, eventually to be Dr. Felt, surely you have tried to find Mr. Kesler this way; if not, give it a try. You are well aware of how much that would mean to him. Thanks you for giving yourself to teaching our kids; it ain't easy!