Top teacher helps kids relate daily life, school
Published: October 9, 2005
Utah’s new Teacher of the Year says the goal of teaching is to make sure students are happy and successful.
“We all have a lot of hard days. . . . It’s so important to remember what we are here for,” North Ogden Junior High School teacher Joan Heap said Friday night after she took the honor. “And you know what? I think we are doing a darn good job.”
Heap was named the 2006 Utah Teacher of the Year at a banquet honoring the state’s kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in Salt Lake City.
The language arts teacher was selected from among 21 nominees by a panel of education representatives - making her Utah’s 43rd top teacher.
Runners-up included Glen Westbroek, who teaches science at Orem Junior High, and Shelly Condie, a fifth-grade teacher at Emerson Elementary in Salt Lake City. Both received $200.
Heap was presented a $1,000 check from Christine Kearl, associate state superintendent. She also received a SMART Board, or an interactive white board, a computer from MPC Computers and a classroom amplification system from Audio Enhancement.
Next, Heap will travel to Washington to compete in the National Teacher of the Year program. She will also travel to Alabama for Space Camp.
In an earlier interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Heap said her teaching philosophy is to relate what’s taught in the classroom to daily life.
“If we teach them something and don’t relate it to a life skill, then they don’t understand why it’s important, and more importantly, then they don’t use it,” she said.
She keeps in close contact with her students, often tutoring them after school and calling them on the phone.
On hand to congratulate Heap were Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert and state School Board Chairman Kim Burningham.
Earlier in the evening, the 21 nominees were each recognized with a plaque, and Ember Storrs, the 2005 Utah Teacher of the Year, spoke to the crowd.
“We are in the business of preparing students,” she said. “And teachers are the heart and soul of education.”
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