Science instructor wins Teacher of the Year

Mary Styers says she loves her job so much she’d almost do it for free.

Although she’s paid to teach eighth-grade science at Monroney Middle School, the former U.S. Navy aircraft mechanic said it’s certainly not the salary that keeps her enthusiastic about public education. It’s the students.

“I teach science and I’m in a lab everyday looking at these organisms, living and breathing. I’m observing the development of the human species and it’s fascinating to watch,” she said. “They’re so worth the time and the lack of a paycheck.”

Styers was recently named Teacher of the Year in the Mid-Del school district. She will represent the district in the state Teacher of the Year competition later this year. Styers has taught for 10 years, the last four at Monroney. Prior to that, she taught six years at St. James Catholic School in Oklahoma City.

Styers said she was “absolutely floored” when her name was read aloud as the Teacher of the Year during the April 11 Board of Education meeting.

“I hugged the lady next to me and I hugged my principal. I kept thinking my mother was going to be proud. I thought my oldest son was going to jump out of his chair. It was better than almost any Christmas morning,” she said. “This was a remarkable honor because we have so many highly accomplished people in our district with the same credentials as I do and they’re highly intelligent.”

CONNECTION

Monroney Principal Chris Reynolds said Styers has an uncanny ability to connect with her students in a way that leaves many of them excited about science and education in general.

“The relationships she has with the kids is the best. The kids gravitate to her and sometimes they won’t leave (her class) and go where they’re supposed to. She’s a jewel. We love her,” he said.

Styers said her connection to the students is due, in large part, to raising four teens. She is mom to eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th graders who attend school in the Choctaw- Nicoma Park district.

“I have the same expectations for my students as I do for the four children who live at my house,” she said. “I really don’t see it (behavior) as an issue. Having four teenagers of my own, I’m accustomed to that part of the adolescent’s growth.”

She goes far beyond the traditional science textbook lessons and chapter assignments, Reynolds said.

For example, students watched over a period of weeks as baby chicks hatched in their classroom. But before the lesson could get underway, Styers and her students went to city hall to get a required permit to hatch and raise the chicks.

As part of a physical science lesson, Styers and the students assembled waterand fuel-propelled rockets.

HURDLES

The biggest hurdle Styers faces in the classroom is time.

“There’s not enough hours in day. I know it’s not a popular thing to say, but I wish we had longer school days. Running a lab activity in 55 minutes is a challenge. I need more time to work with them. Sometimes I lose

them to things like track and baseball,” she said.

Still, that doesn’t dampen Styers’ love for teaching young minds. Students who struggled early in the year often find themselves with an “aha!” moment during end-ofyear tests, Styers said.

“When they take that last benchmark test, they recognize what they’ve accomplished in a year and that’s priceless,” she said.

Becoming a teacher was almost predestined for Styers, one of five children raised in Upper Michigan. Her mother was a teacher and three of her siblings teach.

“When I was in high school, I thought I would be the first female president,” she said. “I do have an impact on the future of America, but it’s from the other end. Being a teacher is more humbling and that suits me better.”