West Side Teacher Who Uses Real Life Lessons To Teach Social Studies Wins Golden Apple Award

EAST GARFIELD PARK — Social challenges that plague the West Side are a essential element of Robert Davis’ social scientific studies classes at George Westinghouse College or university Prep.

Since the begin of the pandemic, Davis’ ninth and 11th graders have researched unequal access to well being treatment on the West Facet, the historical past of disinvestment, the absence of general public infrastructure and the quite a few vacant plenty and run-down properties in the space. Davis has also included lessons on food accessibility into his classes considering that the lack of grocery outlets and supermarkets on the West Facet has contributed to severe overall health disparities.

Davis’ approach to social scientific studies and civics gained him a Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching this 12 months. The Golden Apple Foundation structured a celebration to surprise Davis with the award at Westinghouse’s gymnasium with his pupils and colleagues.

Remaining identified as one particular of the state’s major academics has been a “great opportunity for me to mirror on what I have been carrying out as a trainer the earlier couple years,” Davis explained.

Davis is amongst 10 winners of the prestigious statewide award, which consists of a $5,000 prize and a spring sabbatical presented by Northwestern University.

David claimed he was proud to be acknowledged for his teaching system, which encourages pupils to “see an problem and assume about how to deal with it.”

“We’re receiving them to understand that the things they stroll by, the deserted buildings they stroll by, there’s a explanation that’s there. Then they can believe about how to get rid of them. It’s massively empowering,” Davis explained.

Credit rating: The Golden Apple Basis

Westinghouse Principal W. Terrell Burgess mentioned he nominated Davis for his operate tailoring social science classes to be culturally related to students’ life.

“I do not recall mastering about history in a way that connected to me and my lived practical experience. I constantly felt like an outsider in my history lessons,” Burgess explained. “Students shouldn’t experience like an outsider in their mastering.”

Students are much more probably to thrive when they experience invested in the product they are studying, Davis stated.

“The initially stage is permitting students know how things relate to us,” he stated.

Davis’ technique to instruction is “not only teaching people today about the past. It is also supplying them the belief they can change matters,” he stated. “I’ve finished huge factors close to pupils being lively in the local community and witnessed some tremendous results. I just developed an environment wherever they could demonstrate their comprehensive likely.”

Other lecturers at Westinghouse reward from Davis’ skills as an educator, Burgess stated. Davis is a all-natural chief who heads the school’s freshman-level team, where by he has applied academic assistance packages and mentored other instructors, the principal stated.

As non permanent social research chair, Davis “singlehandedly changed the trajectory of that division,” in section by having “courageous conversations about the perform that is desired to go us ahead,” Burgess mentioned.

“It was not about building a name for himself. It was just that this is the work that requires to be finished, and he was the one identified as to do it and keen to do the hefty lifting,” Burgess claimed.

Davis stated his accomplishment as instructor continues a extensive custom in his spouse and children as educators, relationship back again 4 generations. Almost each and every member of Davis’ relatives has been a instructor at some issue, he reported.

“This is my spouse and children company. I’ve experienced educators in the spouse and children considering that the late 1800s. For me to be up there is form of a moment for all the educators in my household,” Davis claimed.

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