Michael H. McClure, a Chemistry Teacher at Richland Northeast High School, is the co-winner of the 1998 Outstanding Chemistry Teacher Award from the South Carolina Association of Chemistry Teachers (SCACT). This reward was delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Association held on, March 28, 1998 in Columbia. This award is accompanied by a cheek for $50 and a plaque commemorating the award.
Mike has been a high school science teacher for 22 years. During this time he has taught both chemistry and physics Mile has also served as a master teacher and mentor to other science teachers across the state with his involvement in the South Carolina Professional Development Program for Science and Mathematics, and the Teachers Leading Teachers Leadership Program through USC. In addition, Mike as made numerous presentations at the South Carolina Science Council Conventions, and has served as the treasurer for SCACT for a number of years.
Mike is very involved in extracurricular science activities at Richland Northeast where he serves as a Co- sponsor for the Science Olympiad Team and for the Junior Academy of Science Club. He has also helped with a booth at the Discovery Fair held each year at the South Carolina State Fair. He has also written for Chem 13 News and helped with the development of a chemistry textbook used by the University of South Carolina in their freshman chemistry course Mike has a simple philosophy about teaching. As he says, "I believe that a good teacher should never stop learning". He likes to involve his students in lively discussions where he says, "I want my students to be interactive rather than passive
Michael W. Varnadore, a chemistry teacher at Edisto High School, is the co- winner of the 1998 Outstanding Chemistry Teacher Award from the South Carolina Association of Chemistry Teachers (SCACT) This reward was delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Association held on, March 28, 1998 in Columbia. This award is accompanied by a check for $50 and a plaque commemorating the award.
Michael has been a teacher for 12 years. He currently teaches AP Chemistry, Advanced Chemistry, Advanced Physics, and Advanced Marine Biology. Michael has made numerous presentations at South Carolina and National Science Conventions as well as for his own district. He has also helped in the development of many programs at his school including work on Authentic Assessment and Assertive Discipline.
Michael is a sponsor for a number of organizations at Edisto High School. These include Science Bowl coach and Science Olympiad coach. In addition, he has served on the grant writing teams for several large grants to his school and he serves on the Upper Savannah Science/Math Hub Advisory Board. Michael's teaching philosophy comes through clearly in his autobiographical sketch---"I believe that ALL students can learn". His teaching style involves a variety of activities designed to touch on the learning styles of all of the different types of students that he teaches.
Ann M. DeRiggs, a Physical Science Teacher at Wagener-Salley High School, is the winner of the 1998 Outstanding Physical Science Teacher Award from the South Carolina Association of Chemistry Teachers (SCACT). This reward was delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Association held on, March 28, 1998 in Columbia This award is accompanied by a check for $50 and a plaque commemorating the award.
Ann has been a science teacher for 29 years. During this time she has taught in a variety of unique places from the Bureau of Indian Affalrs to her current job at Wagener-Salley High School teaching Physical Science. She has done a number of things to help disadvantaged students improve their understanding of physical science and has met with so much success that she is currently involved in developing a Partners in Education Program. This program is designed to get parents, teachers, students, and the community to work together to help improve academic achievement.
Ann is actively involved in several activities designed to encourage students in their pursuit of science. She helped students set up a science study group, helped with school science fairs, served as a coach for the Physical Science Academic Challenge team and a co-sponsor for the Junior Academy of Science club. Ann begins her autobiographical sketch "My wonderful journey in education started as a facilitator in a self-contained classroom in the Arizona desert" and one can see that that is only the start of an exciting career in teaching. Ann's teaching philosophy "is that successful education depends upon the cooperation and involvement of students, parents, teachers, and the community". It is very evident that she lives that philosophy and has helped to make it a reality wherever she has taught.