Wyoming High-School Teacher Honored for Challenging Students to Think for Themselves

“‘Did you hear that someone flew planes into the World Trade Center?’ I was asked that question on my way to Ms. Whitsett’s class the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Ms. Whitsett didn’t say very much that day in class, but it was the successive days and quarters in which her input was so highly valued.”  -- Barry Shaw Winston, a University of Cincinnati December graduate

Kathy Whitsett of Springdale, a government teacher at Wyoming High School, is one of four teachers from around the Tristate who will be honored by the University of Cincinnati when she receives the Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Award at UC’s December Commencement Ceremony.

The ceremony takes place at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 8, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center

. Whitsett will be presented with a $1,000 UC scholarship to be awarded to a high-school senior of her choosing who plans to attend UC in the 2008-2009 academic year.

The educators were nominated by soon-to-graduate UC students who wanted to recognize a K-12 educator who had a lasting impact on their pursuit of a college degree. The recipients were selected from 27 nominations reviewed by a UC committee that included representation from the Office of the President, UC faculty, staff and students.

Barry Shaw Winston, of Wyoming, Ohio, credits Whitsett with paving his successful pathway through college. The 22-year-old Winston is graduating in December from UC’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in physical and environmental geography. He says he plans to pursue his education even further and enroll in UC’s Graduate School next fall.

As a high-school student, he was on his way to Ms. Whitsett’s class on the day the entire nation will never forget – Sept. 11, 2001. He was in her classroom again on the one-year anniversary, discussing the impact it would have on foreign affairs. “Ms. Whitsett made me consider how my actions will affect the lives of my children and my fellow citizens,” Winston says. “She made me realize the importance of communication and dialogue with foreign countries in a global society.

“She is one of the most memorable people I had as a teacher. She presented class materials from a standpoint that cultivated critical thinking. We learned how to analyze the materials beyond the textbooks and to think for ourselves,” Winston says.

A 21-year veteran of teaching, Whitsett says she was led into the profession because growing up, she felt the good teachers were the rare ones. “I always felt like it was an honorable profession and I wanted to be one of the good teachers. Everyone has to pass through a teacher, so I think it’s one of the best professions there is.”

A good teacher, Whitsett says, is “willing to engage the students where they are and then move them to something higher. I love what I teach,” says the government teacher. “I want them to be social activists when they leave my class. I want them to be responsible voters.”

She adds that successful students are students who pay attention to what’s happening in the world around them. “I find that my best students are students who are willing to read, and to read opposite viewpoints from their own. The students who are willing to keep an open mind and respectfully listen to other opinions will face the world and all the diversity it has to offer, and be successful,” she says.

She adds that Winston stayed abreast of current events and was always willing to engage in class discussions. “Barry was a very good writer and very articulate in summarizing his views. He often was willing to take the devil’s advocate side in class discussions.”

Yet, she says she had no idea that her classroom would remain an important high-school experience for the former high school basketball player. “As a teacher, you never know who you’re going to reach or touch,” she says. The UC award is a way for college students to thank their former teachers for motivating them to reach beyond their high- school years.

This December marks the third year that UC has presented the Cincinnati USA Outstanding Educator Awards to recognize the lifelong inspiration of K-12 educators. Preceding the ceremony, Winston and Whitsett will celebrate Whitsett’s UC honor when they join UC President Nancy L. Zimpher at a special brunch that will take place at 11:15 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 8, in the Faculty Club Banquet Room in Room 850 of the Richard E. Lindner Center.

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