My friend, Suzy Lovejoy, recently received a great honor. Read on.....
Lanier Middle School Teacher Receives State Recognition
January 30, 2008
January 30, 2008
Suzy Lovejoy, an English-literacy teacher at Sidney Lanier Middle School, was the 2008 recipient of the Outstanding Middle School Educator Award from the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (TCTELA). The award was presented to Lovejoy on January 26 at the TCTELA annual conference in Houston, where she was recognized for inspiring students to read and write through a unique community approach to language arts.
Throughout her career, Lovejoy has taught students to go beyond ordinary writing techniques; she has helped students become better writers by inspiring them to explore how they feel about various issues in the community.
Her unique style of teaching began at River Oaks Elementary School in 1990, when the school was under renovation. Lovejoy seized the opportunity to turn the fifth-grade classroom into a lab for investigative journalism. Students researched not only the renovation project, but how bricks were made. They interviewed construction workers and school administrators, and then wrote a book about the renovation project that included a history of the school.
“Students are inspired to write when something meaningful happens to them, so I’ve tried to put them in situations that have a purpose or a cause,” Lovejoy said. “When students get involved with a cause, they’re moved to articulate their feelings.”
Lovejoy received the Outstanding Middle School Educator Award from the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts for inspiring students to read and write through a unique community approach to language arts.
One class of fifth-graders chose to study the problems of homelessness in Houston and then wrote a play based on their research. Another class studied HIV and AIDS, wrote a book about their findings, and presented the publication to the AIDS Foundation Houston.
This year, at Lanier Middle School, sixth-graders are studying the ecological environment in the community around their school. Assistant Principal Lauren Askew said she is often invited to be the audience for Lovejoy’s students when they perform original plays or share their creative writing. “Ms. Lovejoy’s classroom is a place where meaningful learning is coupled with fun, confidence-building activities,” Askew said. “Ms. Lovejoy also invites guest speakers to read their published poems or short stories to her students and to talk about the writing process. Overall, Ms. Lovejoy encourages students to expand their worlds and fulfill their creative genius.”
Dr. Margaret Hill, a retired language arts professor at the University of Houston–Clear Lake, nominated Lovejoy for the award. “Ms. Lovejoy comes as close to embodying Paulo Freire’s philosophy of ‘Teaching the World’ as one can get. Her students leave each year with a deep understanding of human rights, struggles, and accomplishments and become excellent writers, readers, and thinkers.”
A life-long learner, Lovejoy often travels to New York to take courses at Teachers College, Columbia University, to which she credits the innovative ideas she brings into the classroom. Lovejoy holds a Master of Liberal Arts degree from the University of St. Thomas and a Master of Education for Gifted and Talented Students from the University of Houston. In addition to teaching at Lanier, Lovejoy serves as a language arts adjunct instructor at the University of Houston–Clear Lake. She is an accomplished writer of short stories and poetry with six publishing credits.
TCTELA Past President Alana Morris said the unique community approach to language arts developed by Lovejoy was the determining factor in naming her the Outstanding Middle School Educator in English Language Arts.
