{"id":21436,"date":"2023-04-19T08:51:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T12:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/?p=21436"},"modified":"2023-04-19T12:44:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T16:44:58","slug":"pamelahernick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/2023\/04\/19\/pamelahernick\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Students Connecting the Dots: The Inspiring Journey of St. Mary’s High School Teacher, a Finalist for Independent Teacher of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pamela Hernick<\/strong><\/h2><\/div>

I am an Independent school: Social Studies Teacher, St. Mary’s High | 2023 Independent Teacher of the Year Finalist<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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We are excited to spotlight Pamela Hernick.\u00a0<\/span>Pamela Hernick is a 2023 Independent Teacher of the Year finalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. Hernick was nominated by the school\u2019s principal, Minidi Imes.\u00a0<\/span>The Saint Mary\u2019s High School Social Studies teacher is a University of Delaware alum who brings enthusiasm and a warming pragmatism to her students and peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had an opportunity to talk with Pamela about her year as a Independent Teacher of the Year finalist. <\/span>The full video conversation will be posted in this space after the 2023 Excellence in Education awards dinner.<\/p>\n

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Here are a few highlights of the conversation:<\/span><\/p>\n

Describe who you are in 5 words or less.<\/b><\/p>\n

Energetic, curious, and always learning<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell me one thing you remember about your first year teaching.<\/b><\/p>\n

Started as a sub asked to teach Spanish class with no formal training, but went in with the attitude to learn everyday and be my best.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking back, what would you tell your former self about your potential as an educator?<\/b><\/p>\n

Your ability to connect with others and connect subjects is your superpower.<\/span><\/p>\n

What one thing do you love about working in your school? with the students? and with the community?<\/b><\/p>\n

The ability to walk to work and being at the school long enough to now have seen students grow into productive adults.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your favorite memory of your family and friends supporting you on your journey as an educator?<\/b><\/p>\n

My husband. He has been a super support system during my process of becoming a teacher. Also my 4 daughters and their willing to help me practice teaching with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

COVID really challenged teachers, students, families, and schools on a level beyond imagination. How has the experience of working through COVID and then returning to \u201cnormal\u201d instruction made you a better teacher and person?<\/b><\/p>\n

I started COVID pregnant while working on my masters and teaching. I missed the energy and real time connections. I\u2019m unsure I was aware of how much I enjoyed the connection until we came back to \u201cnormal\u201d instruction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thinking about the future of education, what are you most excited about for educators? for students? and for schools?<\/b><\/p>\n

Seeing the evolution of education after COVID helped shake up the structure that now has a focus on meeting the needs of both students and teachers.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is one hidden talent you have that no one, or few people, knows about and would surprise them?<\/b><\/p>\n

In the AP Psychology class I teach, in the unit on sensation and perception, I show the students my ESP party trick. I have them write something on paper and put it in an envelope. I then put the envelope over my head and I can tell them what they wrote on the paper. They have yet to figure out what I do.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you had to make a time capsule about this year as a teacher of the year finalist and you had to include an item, an image, a quote and a song\/melody, what would you include?<\/b><\/p>\n

A poem by Mark Nepo named \u201cLiving in the Freshest Chamber in the Heart,\u201d a pic of my family (all 6 of us), and the song is \u201cOne of These Days.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For the last question, what is one reason why someone should choose to become a teacher?<\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in the future and the well being of others. You\u2019ll learn so much about yourself as well as enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Louis Nesbitt, PDM Department<\/span><\/p>\n

LNesbitt@aacps.org<\/a><\/p>\n

The journey of an educator is a lifetime. We are thankful to those who have chosen to embark on this path. As a community, one of our greatest capacities is availability, so when the opportunities arise, find your own way to support education.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re interested in the future and the well being of others, become a teacher. You\u2019ll learn so much about yourself as well as enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001013,"featured_media":21453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"saved","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[207],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21436"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21596,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21436\/revisions\/21596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacpsschools.org\/development\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}