People
National Teacher of the Year

The moment he stepped into the classroom, Chauncey Veatch fell in love with his students. He admits he had a few concerns, but he never questioned his decision to teach.

Now Veatch hopes he can share his love of teaching with his peers as he tours the country as the 2002 National Teacher of the Year.

"I never thought I would get it," Veatch says of the award. "But maybe the the rewards I receive from teaching are something I can share."

Veatch decided in 1995 to become a teacher, after serving 22 years in the U.S. Army. He sought advice from his brother and sister, both teachers at the time, then contacted a school district near his home in California about working as a substitute teacher. The school system convinced him to interview for a full-time position. Six days later, he started teaching.

During the next three years, Veatch taught middle school during the day and pursued his teaching credential at night and on weekends. In 1999, Veatch assumed his current position as a social studies teacher at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, California.

Veatch spends much of his free time with his students, attending their sporting events and family celebrations. Of the 34 seniors he taught last year, 17 said they wanted to become teachers.

"Our students are watching us every day, and if they see that we love what we're doing, of course it will be an appealing career," he says.

Preserving the Past In Pewter

Modern conveniences have their place, but NEA-Retired member Dick Graver helps preserve the past as one of a half-dozen master pewterers in the United States.

"I certainly enjoyed teaching, but this is a bit more therapeutic and relaxing," says Graver, who taught industrial arts and technical education courses for 32 years until his retirement in 1997.

The Pennsylvania member developed his interest in pewter while pursuing his master's degree at Millersville University in the 1970s, when he studied under renowned metalware expert Henry J. Kauffman. He now specializes in 18th- and 19th-century reproductions of such items as plates, teapots, candlesticks, mugs, and utensils.

Graver uses traditional methods to create his pieces-casting them in metal molds; skimming, burnishing, and spinning on a lathe; soldering parts together; and polishing.

"It looks relatively easy, but you really have to get the feel of the metal," says Graver. "There isn't a whole lot written on the subject, so you just learn by experience."

Teacher on the Trail

More than 5,000 schools worldwide follow the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on the Web each year. But NEA member Kim Kavanagh, a second-grade teacher in Ellisville, Missouri, experienced the 2002 race in person.

As the Iditarod's Teacher on the Trail, Kavanagh (shown here with one of the race participants) spent a month traveling by plane along the 1,112-mile race through the rugged terrain of Alaska. During her trip, she visited various checkpoints along the trail, interviewed mushers, and helped out wherever she could. She posted pictures, journals, and lesson plans daily on the Web so students and teachers at her home school, Ridge Meadows Elementary, could follow her journey.

Kavanagh communicated with her class daily through e-mail and even conducted a video teleconference so she could speak to students individually. Kavanagh was fortunate enough to have computer access at all of the checkpoints.

"This was such a great way to combine adventure and learning," Kavanagh says. "I missed the kids terribly, but this was a way for them to be included in what I was doing, even if it wasn't directly."

For more information, go to www.iditarod.com.

Teaching from Center Stage

NEA Student Progam member William Mack always knew theater could entertain people. After he joined the theater department at the University of Kentucky, Mack learned that theater could educate them as well.

Mack (shown here on left) belongs to the cast of Afrilachia, a play based on a book of poems by Frank X. Walker. The show's 13 cast members explore various race issues of the Appalachian region by interpreting Walker's poems through drama, dance, and song.

Mack, a senior, joined the cast because he "believed in the message, the focus they had, and the fact that they were trying to raise cultural awareness," he says.

The troupe first performed the play two years ago as part of a program celebrating 50 years of integration on the university's campus. After a season of campus performances, the cast toured the state for a year performing the show. They plan to launch a sequel this fall.

"After I finished Afrilachia I knew I wanted to pursue the dramatic arts," says Mack, who changed his major to fine arts education. "This opened my eyes on how to make theater entertaining and educating at the same time."

For more information about the Student Program, go to www.nea.org/students/.

National ESP of the Year

Don't tell Colorado's JoAnn Falk she can't do something, because she'll prove you're wrong.

During her 27-year career, Falk organized a local Association, won bargaining recognition from her school board, created a district education foundation, and even painted murals in the schools. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. This spring, NEA recognized Falk with the 2002 Education Support Professional of the Year Award.

"To me that is the top prize you can get for support professionals," says Falk, a central office secretary from Pueblo. "It means a lot to me and my Association."

In 1994, Falk and her colleagues belonged to the Colorado Classified Employees Association, but the union did not have bargaining rights. So Falk organized the Association of Classified Employees and approached the Colorado Education Association about the local's desire for bargaining recognition. In the end, she and 13 colleagues switched their memberships to CEA. With CEA support, members of ACE fought for school board recognition, but the district superintendent blocked their efforts.

That didn't stop Falk. The local organized an election campaign for two school board candidates sympathetic to the local's cause. The candidates won the election and the new school board recognized ACE at the board's first meeting. Within six months the system had a new superintendent. Contract negotiations also began that year.

"In my eyes the classified people were so abused under the previous superintendent that they had no one to stand up for them," says Falk, ACE president. "I help organize throughout Colorado and I always tell them, 'don't think it can't be done. If you think it can be done, it can.'"