Published: November 12, 2008 10:19 pm      

Summers County teacher wins state award

HINTON — West Virginia’s History Teacher of the Year is most proud of his accomplishment because of his mother and grandmother.

Stan Duncan, who teaches 11th-grade 20th and 21st century history at Summers County High School, said his grandmother aspired to be a teacher her entire life and followed her dream at the age of 54 when she entered Concord College as a freshman on a general equivalency diploma to study teaching.

Upon graduation, she began her teaching career at the age of 58.

“I appreciate so much what my mother and grandmother did for me,” Duncan said. “It was an honor for me to be recognized, given my background and schooling.”

Duncan attended a one-room school in Summers County.

Duncan, who is also the school’s football coach, was nominated for the award by Dr. Sarah Lee Brown, director of curriculum and instruction for the Summers County school system.

“We’re just so thrilled for our students that they have the opportunity to be taught by the West Virginia social studies teacher of the year,” Brown said.

The state Department of Education sent her information regarding the competition and she said she instantly knew she had to nominate Duncan.

Prior to winning, Duncan was requested to present his philosophy of teaching, a formal video, unit plans and primary source documents.

“They were looking for people who implemented literacy strategies and primary source documents in their social studies classrooms — people who were dedicated to American history,” Brown said.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got the man right here! He met the qualifications to the ‘T’.”

Brown said after evaluating Duncan’s classroom recently she was in awe of the way he structured his class.

“His classroom was set up like a history timeline. He had source documents such as the Declaration of Independence, all over the walls, all the way around his classroom. I’ve never seen that before,”

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Duncan describes himself as an “outside-the-box” thinker who values — and instills — strong reading comprehension and writing skills in his students.

Challenging his students on a “higher level” on an everyday basis, Duncan says he tries to “sell America — warts and all.”

“I try to challenge my students to be involved in our democracy,” he said.

Junior Tony Petrarca finds Duncan’s class enjoyable.

“He’s the most structured teacher I’ve ever had in my life — and that’s a good thing,” Petrarca said.

“After college or when I have a job, he would be one of the few teachers I would go back to and say, ‘This is what you’ve done for me.’”

In his classroom, you will typically find Duncan’s students taking part in activities such as charades or debates to further engage their minds.

“I will have them act it out or do a skit — challenge their creativity. If you challenge a student’s creativity, they become more involved in it, and it’s not so dull or mundane to them,” he said.

Sophomore Jainie Baker said, “We’re pretty lucky” to have the West Virginia History Teacher of the Year at her school.

“I just want him to know that he really did help. I’m proud of him.”

“I just want to say thank you to him. He broke it down so we were able to understand,” said Brian Foley, also a sophomore.

“He actually took his time with each and every one of us. He’d go to your desk and actually sit down and talk to you. A regular teacher sometimes treats you as a class and a bunch of numbers. He’d sit you down as a human and talk to you.”

Duncan began his career in Bluefield, Va., in 1973 and has taught for more than 19 years at various schools in Virginia and West Virginia.

He is a 1969 graduate of Sandstone High School and holds a B.S. degree in social studies and health, physical and safety education from Concord.

After being recognized in June by the competition sponsor, the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of New York, Duncan went to New York where he received a $1,000 check and a collection of U.S. history books to donate to his local library.

“It was just an honor to go to the city and be recognized,” he said.

Summers County principal Thomas Niswander recognized Duncan’s achievement.

“He’s a great teacher,” Niswander said.

New at the school, Niswander desired to implement 21st century teaching methods in the classroom.

“When I first got here in January, we talked about moving toward a 21st century classroom, and I’m proud of it. Stan took the ball and ran with it,” Niswander said.

The state Board of Education will present Duncan with the official award at 10 a.m. Nov. 19 at the board office.

— E-mail:

jayres@register-herald.com