Article Contributed on: 4/14/2007 1:32:50 PM
Mrs.
Deborah Pearce teaches Advanced Placement American History to sophomores at Golden High School. This in itself would be enough to qualify her as a Top Teacher, as Golden is one of few schools that offers an AP class to sophomores, due to the difficulty of the curriculum, but Mrs. Pearce rises to the challenge in exceptional ways.
She takes the most difficult subject these students have ever had and makes them love it!
Mrs. Pearce is highly motivated, and her students rise to her expectations. She doesn't just teach through books and lectures, she takes the students on extended field trips to historical sites in Colorado, and gets them involved in the Foothills Forum speaking events at Mount Vernon Country Club. She encourages watching great movies about our country's history and people, and she brings the subject to life in a tangible way that the students can apply to today's world and events. She is unfailingly positive and enthusiastic, and her students love her and work hard to make her proud of them. The parents love her, too, as she is a fantastic communicator, and she e-mails us at least weekly with assignment information and school functions. This takes time and effort, but it is so important, and I wish more teachers would engage the students and parents this way.
Mrs. Pearce is very well qualified, and besides her impressive teaching credentials, she holds associations with CU and BYU. She is also a National Honor Society Adviser at Golden High School. Debbie could be doing so many things, she is so exceptional, but she chooses to educate our children in what I consider to be the most important subject- becoming future leaders in our community and country. She will always be that special teacher that we all remember- the one that made a real difference in our childrens' lives.
Kathy Grant
Golden, CO