THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406030289
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOVE WIMBISH, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: Long
``When the kids come to us in September brand new, you know nothing about them,'' said Linda Sherbinsky, a fifth-grade teacher at Greenbrier Intermediate School.
{REST} ``They come from broken homes or foster homes, or they haven't seen their dad in the Navy for six months,'' Sherbinsky said. ``And sometimes you know that they are not with you because they are thinking of the situation that they come from.''
At Greenbrier Intermediate, she tries to be a good listener and make her classroom a place of warmth.
``If you can make it a happy, fun place to be, they are going to want to come back every day,'' she said. ``And that's important.''
The other honorees are Brenda Lawrence of Indian River High School and Michelle Degnan of Western Branch High School.
So far, the winners have been kept fairly busy with TV quiz shows, speaking engagements and other activities.
In order to be chosen, each teacher must first have been selected as the school's Teacher of the Year. Of those 41 teachers, five finalists from the elementary level and three finalists from the secondary level are chosen.
Interviews and class observations are held before winners from three categories are chosen: elementary, secondary and overall Teacher of the Year.
Elementary School Teacher of the Year
Name: Linda Sherbinsky
School: Greenbrier Intermediate
Subject: Fifth Grade
Marital Status: Married to Bernard Sherbinsky for 24 years
Children: Jeff, 15, Ann-Marie, 13
Teaching Years: 4
Linda Sherbinsky was helping to teach kids even before she entered a classroom.
Her sister-in-law was a teacher who was having trouble with her eyesight. Sherbinsky, a former medical secretary, began grading a few papers for her. Soon, she was helping with lesson plans and even report cards.
As Sherbinsky became attached to the students through their writings and struggles, she realized that she was in the wrong profession. And she was hooked.
At age 40, she began teaching.
``I was a late bloomer,'' said Sherbinsky, who returned to Old Dominion University for her master's degree.
Winning the award was the last thing she expected.
``I'm very proud to be a teacher; this is what I want to do,'' she said. ``And I just can't imagine getting an award for something I love.''
But it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to her. Sherbinsky's classroom isn't the old ``nose-to-the-grindstone'' sort of place.
``We do things in class, things that you wouldn't think of being a normal classroom lesson, but they are learning,'' she said.
For example, if students are going to learn about area and perimeter, they learn how to find the area of a house or a yard through blueprints she brings in.
With percentages, students look for sales in newspaper ads. They calculate the percentage and their savings.
``I think it just shows them the practical aspect of what they are learning,'' she said.
Secondary Teacher of the Year
Name: Brenda Lawrence
School: Indian River High School
Subject: French
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Teaching Years: 23
It was the first Friday in December, and Brenda Lawrence was having one of those days.
Just as she neared her school's bus loop, her car died. One bus and then another arrived, until there was a string of buses waiting for her to push her car out of the way.
When the French teacher finally got to her classroom, rushing around trying to get everything done before class, the principal asked to meet with her in his office.
Sitting in her principal's office, Lawrence learned the news over the intercom: She was teacher of the year.
``I had, from the very beginning, no idea,'' she said. ``I thought always that it would be someone else, not me. It was an unforgettable experience.''
The youngest child of 11, Brenda Lawrence graduated in the class of 1967 from I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth. In 1971, fresh out of college, Lawrence took the plunge and taught her first day of school. She has been teaching ever since.
``The secret behind being a good teacher is caring for students, praying for them and just taking an interest in them,'' she said.
Although she wants her students to learn French, often the most important lesson she teaches has nothing at all to do with the language.
``I would love for my students to go overseas and be able to speak French perfectly, but I know that is unrealistic,'' she said. ``But there are some lessons that I can teach them that will last, like being respectful of themselves and others, and being and doing nothing less than their best.''
Overall Teacher of the Year
Name: Michelle Degnan
School: Western Branch High School
Subject: French
Marital Status: single
Children: None
Teaching Years: 15
Michelle Degnan didn't start out wanting to be a teacher. In fact, she was in the fast lane of a lucrative track as a career interpreter/translator when she got bit by the teaching bug.
She had a double major in Spanish and French, and minored in German and Italian. She had passed the test to become an interpreter but wasn't yet certified.
``I didn't want to do anything else,'' Degnan said.
Then, her brother's German teacher had to leave school because her husband had died. Degnan became the substitute teacher.
``And once I got in, I liked it,'' she said. ``I didn't want to get out.''
Outside of school, Degnan is involved in a number of activities. She is president of the Chesapeake Education Association, a coach for recreation softball, a Meals on Wheels volunteer and an interpreter for local hospitals when their patients don't speak English.
``In interpreting/translating, you never give of yourself; you just deal with words,'' she said. ``The whole ideal of teaching is using the language so that they can tell me about themselves.''
Degnan says the secret to good teaching is to love what you do and know your subject well.
``I love what I do,'' she said. ``I've lived and worked in Chesapeake for a long time, and even after all these years I am still enthusiastic about it, still very passionate, and I give it my best every day.''
How teachers view their students is crucial, Degnan said.
``People misunderstand teenagers these days, and I think that is one of the greatest tragedies,'' she said. ``They are not just miniadults or tall children, and I think that they really deserve their own status.''
{KEYWORDS} TEACHER OF THE YEAR
by CNB