ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160009
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
MEMO: Also ran in May 19, 1996 Current.
SUSAN Wenk and Harvey Goodwin have so much in common, they could almost be twins.
Both are teachers in the social studies department at William Fleming High School. Both teach American history. Both are young.
Both love teaching and the school environment. Both often spend long hours after classes and on weekends at William Fleming on jobs other than teaching.
Both were recognized this spring for outstanding achievement in the classroom at the Roanoke school.
Wenk, 31, received the Roanoke Jaycees' Outstanding Young Educator Award. Goodwin, 38, was named city teacher of the year by the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.
"No two people could be more deserving than these two teachers," said Fleming Principal Alyce Szathmary. "They give so much to the rest of the school."
Despite so many similarities, Wenk and Goodwin have different personalities and teaching styles, said Hallie Carr, principal of Fleming's Hart Hall, where history and social studies are taught.
Wenk is animated, enthusiastic and outgoing. She enjoys working with students as adviser to the school's student government as much as teaching. She helps organize students' community projects and goes on trips with them.
Goodwin is deliberate, reserved and unemotional. Besides teaching, he's in charge of Fleming's technology department and works late at night or on weekends overseeing the school's technology systems.
"While they have different approaches, they get the same results," said Carr. "They motivate students to do better."
But the teachers' influence extends beyond the classroom, she said. "They are touching the lives of students in many other ways."
Wenk has helped students become more active in civic and community affairs through the student government, Carr said. Fleming students have spoken to the School Board, City Council and other groups.
Goodwin's expertise in computers and technology has spurred some students in his history classes to become more interested in technology, she said. And many of his students have developed a keen interest in politics and history outside of their class work.
Wenk, a Radford native, has taught at Fleming for four years. A graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., she taught in Culpeper County for four years before she came to the Roanoke school.
She grew up in a family that valued education, but she did not decide to become a teacher until she was in college. Her father is a former chairman of the Radford School Board.
Wenk teaches geography in addition to U.S. history. She has also been an assistant tennis coach and adviser to the flag team.
"The toughest part of being a teacher is that there aren't enough hours in a day to do what has to be done," Wenk said. "Seeing my kids every day is the biggest pleasure of the job."
While some educators complain about the emotional and psychological pressures of dealing with discipline problems in schools today, Wenk said she doesn't find the job stressful or taxing.
"I'm really fortunate. I have kids who are motivated, who have a sense of family, who do not give me trouble," she said. "There's not one day that I don't look forward to coming to work."
Wenk thinks William Fleming has gotten an unfair rap in the past about having some students who are not motivated academically and cause discipline problems.
"I think the school has had a bad reputation, but I don't see that now. We are fighting to change the school's image, and the students hate it when someone does something bad that reflects on the school," she said.
Wenk said she took a senior trip with 76 students to the Bahamas this year, and there weren't any problems with misbehavior.
Candace Beamer, a student government leader, said Wenk has helped generate more school spirit at Fleming with dances, pep rallies and other activities.
"Since she came, we've had night dances on campus and other things we didn't have before," Beamer said. "She has a way of communicating with people and creating a positive atmosphere."
Beamer, a senior who took American history last year, said Wenk is a demanding teacher, but she cares about her students.
"You can always talk to her if you've got a problem. She's one of my best friends," Beamer said.
Wenk said she tries to make history enjoyable. "I try to make it personal and dramatic to get their attention."
She wasn't surprised by a recent national report showing that nearly six in 10 high school seniors lacked a rudimentary knowledge of American history. She supports the movement for higher standards in history and other subjects, but she believes some educators place too much emphasis on standardized test scores.
Goodwin, a Massachusetts native, has been at Fleming for six years. He teaches advanced-placement American history and the history of the Americas in the International Baccalaureate program.
After receiving a bachelor's degree in history at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, Goodwin worked in management for a rubber company for eight years. Then, he got a master's degree in education from George Mason University in Fairfax before beginning his teaching career at Fleming.
"I always wanted to teach. I enjoy being with kids," said Goodwin, whose career has been influenced by his father. Goodwin said his father worked in computers in the insurance industry and later taught computer science, but he had a "passion for history."
Goodwin has combined history and computers at Fleming: He teaches two history classes and spends the rest of the day on technology-related projects. He is also working on a doctorate at Virginia Tech in computer instructional system design.
Goodwin, who lives on a small farm near Shawsville, arrives at Fleming about 7 a.m. each school day.
"I have to get here before the teachers arrive if I'm going to be working on the computers," he said. He doesn't usually go home until 4:30 p.m. After work, he tends to cattle and goats on his farm.
Goodwin describes himself as a back-to-basics person, but said that doesn't pose any conflict with his interest in technology. Indeed, he believes that computers and technology can help students master the reading, writing, arithmetic and other basics better.
Goodwin said he likes to teach the advanced-placement American history course and International Baccalaureate history class because both have standards that can be used to motivate and test students.
"They have high standards with a very basic curriculum. They don't carry a lot of baggage," he said.
Jeremy Baldwin, a junior who is in the International Baccalaureate history class, said Goodwin is a "very intelligent teacher who knows his subject inside and out" and sets high standards for his students.
There are no multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank tests in Goodwin's classes.
"All of our tests are essays. We must have thesis sentences and prove our points," Baldwin said. "I really enjoy the way he teaches. He knows how to make a point. He's always willing to discuss things with you."
The easiest part of a teacher's life is the classroom instruction, Goodwin said. The tough part is the hours spent grading papers, reading essays and evaluating students' performance.
Said Goodwin: "You can't blow it off. The students put in their work, and you have to take the time to read every paper and evaluate it."
LENGTH: Long : 144 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Susan Wenk, an American history teacher at Williamby CNBFleming High School in Roanoke, has been awarded the Roanoke
Jaycees' Outstanding Young Educator Award. "The toughest part of
being a teacher is that there aren't enough hours in a day to do
what has to be done," Wenk says. "Seeing my kids every day is the
biggest pleasure of the job." 2. Besides teaching government, Harvey
Goodwinheads Fleming's technology department. color. WAYNE DEEL
Staff