1988 Award Winners

Biographies below were included in the program for the year listed here and were current as of that time.

Carol S. Adams

English Teacher
Manhattan High School
USD 383 Manhattan

Carol Adams has taught English at Manhattan High School since 1978, and is currently chair of the English department. In addition, Adams co-developed a humanities-based class on the survey of U.S. history/literature. She also taught at Westmoreland High School from 1976-78.

A native of Pratt, Adams received her B.S. degree in 1974 from Fort Hays State University and her M.S. degree in 1978 from Kansas State University.

Adams has received several awards for excellence in teaching. In 1987, she received the Double Ruby designation from the National Forensics League. In 1984, she was named the University of Kansas Outstanding Teacher of Gifted Students and she was a finalist for the U.S D. #383 "Excellence in Teaching Award" in 1984 and 1987. She was a nominee for the Outstanding Young Educator in 1985.

Adams is active in local and state organizations, the National and Kansas Associations of Teachers of English, the National Association of Social Studies Teachers, Delta Kappa Gamma, and Alpha Delta Gamma. She is on the board of directors of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English, and is a lecturer at St. Isidore's Student Center.

"Teachers must possess an innovative spirit to heighten effective teaching," said Adams. "Teachers also must be enthusiastic in what they do because they play a significant role in students' lives. The hours that students spend with teachers in the classroom sometimes are the safest hours in the day for them. Their need for acceptance, understanding, and challenges that are carefully structured and paced cannot be underestimated.

"Educational partnerships with students and the community instill in students a desire for lifelong learning. Teachers affect eternity, so they never know where their influence National Education Association stops."

Donald G. Buhler

Band Director
Pratt High School
USD 382 Pratt

Donald Buhler has been the band director for grades 5-12 at U.S.D. #382 since 1981. He also taught instrumental music in the Stafford Public Schools from 1978-81.

A Medicine Lodge native, Buhler received his A.A. degree in 1976 from Butler County Community College. He received his B.M.E. degree cum laude in 1978 and his M.M.E. degree in 1984, both from Wichita State University.

Since Buhler took over the high school band program at Pratt, the band has grown from 59 to 132 members. In 1987, Buhler received the Pratt Jaycees Distinguished Service Award as Outstanding Young Educator. He is the chair of the Kansas Music Educators District V High School Honors Band. Buhler's Liberty Middle School 8th Grade Band was selected to perform during the 1987 KMEA in-service workshop.

Buhler is active in local and state National Education Associations, the Kansas and National Music Educators Association, and the Kansas and National Bandmasters Associations. Locally, Buhler is chair of the Pratt City Boy Scout Advisory Council, a member of the Lions Club board of directors, and he belongs to the Pratt NEA community KICKS Band, First United Methodist Church choir, and Pratt Drama Guild.

"My teaching style is such that it commands respect from each individual as well as the entire ensemble," said Buhler. "Wherever my 'classroom' may be, I must create an atmosphere of excitement that not only permeates the audience, but garners a sense of pride and self-respect for each individual.

"Music education has been professed as one of the 'frills' of the education curriculum. Therefore, I must prepare my students in a manner that will help them open up new avenues of understanding and refinement of their learned skills, as well as in their musical talents. I must inspire each student to delve further into the language of music."

Robert Hottman

Counselor
Chaparral High School
USD 361 Anthony

Robert Hottman has been at Chaparral High School since 1970, where he taught art and humanities and served as the yearbook advisor through 1986. He became the high school's counselor in 1987. Hottman also taught at St. John High School and Elementary School and at Hudson Elementary School.

A native of Abilene, Hottman received his B.S. degree in 1965 and his M.A. degree in 1969, both from Fort Hays State University. He also received a counselor certificate in 1987 and he has taken courses at Wichita State, Emporia State, and Ottawa University.

Hottman has sponsored several student organizations, including the yearbook for 16 years, student council for four years, cheerleaders for three years and Students Against Drunk Driving for three years. He also has sponsored the Key Club for 16 years, and was twice honored as the Outstanding Key Club Advisor in Kansas. Hottman served as the District Key Club Administrator for five years.

Hottman is active in numerous volunteer activities, including coordinating Special Olympics and serving as a counselor for the Kansas State High School Activities Association student council workshops. He helped form the Chaparral High School Alumni Association and he served as a local coordinator for the American Heart Association Swim for Heart. He also has been active in the local and state Kiwanis activities.

"The three R's are the meat of education , student activities are the spice , and the humanities are the seasonings," said Hottman. "Activities provide a laboratory that allows students to put into practice those things they learn in the classroom. The humanities develop qualities necessary for life in the larger sense.

"I must teach students, by example, to live full, productive lives, and that without vision, without ideals, without dreams, and without serving others, education is meaningless."

Carolyn C. Kuhn

Fourth Grade Teacher
Logan Avenue Elementary School
USD 253 Emporia

Carolyn Kuhn, who teaches fourth grade at Logan Avenue Elementary School, has been active in the teaching profession for 30 years, including teaching in the Emporia public schools since 1972.

A native of El Dorado, Kuhn received her B.A. degree in 1961 from Sterling College. She attended graduate school at the University of Indiana, and received her M.S. degree in 1971 from Emporia State University.

Kuhn was state president of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) from 1981-85 and she was president of the ACEI State/ Province President's Council. As president of the Kansas ACEI, Kuhn began the Kansas Heritage Project. Currently, she is serving on the international board.

In 1985, Kuhn was selected for a Kansas/ China Education Exchange and she was part of the People to People Tour of Childhood Education to the Soviet Union and China in 1983. She belongs to the local and Emporia state National Education Associations and she received a life membership in the Emporia PTA in 1974.

Locally, she is a trustee for the First Christian Church, and is a member of the Friends of the Great Plains, Lyon County Historical Society, Lyon County Mental Health Association, and Friends of the William A. White Children's Book Award. In 1980, Kuhn was the Kansas delegate to the White House Conference on Families and she attended the 1984 National Prayer Breakfast. Active in Republican politics, Kuhn participated in President Reagan's inauguration in 1981.

"My philosophy is direct and simple," said Kuhn. "Make your expectations clear, be consistent, and give the student a chance to save face.

"In my classes students are part of the decision making. I want them to be thinkers and to have self assurance. Each day I send my students out with a hug or a hand shake - their choice - and a verbal 'take care , I'll see you tomorrow.' "

Michael S. Rush

Biology Teacher
Osawatomie High School
USD 367 Osawatomie

Michael Rush has taught biology at Osawatomie since 1981. He also worked at the Museum of the High Plains at Fort Hays State University, and has taught biology at Fort Scott Community College. Rush developed his own curriculum for a Kansas biology course in 1987.

A native of St. Joseph, Mo., Rush received his B.S. degree in 1979 and his M.S. degree in 1981 , both from Fort Hays State University. He is working on a graduate degree in administration at Pittsburg State University.

Rush is active in the local and state National Education Associations, including serving as president of the Osawatomie NEA from 1985-86. He also was a spokesman of the O-NEA negotiations committee from 1984-87. Rush is a member of the Kansas Academy of Science, Kansas Association of Biology Teachers, Kansas Herpetological Society, and the Kansas Chess Association. He also belongs to the National Wildlife Society.

At Osawatomie High School, Rush advises the chess club, serves as assistant football coach, assistant track coach and head wrestling coach. He developed the gymnastics club and served as coach from 1981-86, and he sponsors the science club and sophomore class . Locally, Rush managed the city of Osawatomie Sports Complex and soccer program and he served as head wrestling coach of the Osawatomie Wrestling Club. He also is a soccer and wrestling referee.

"You have to have a desire to help people and to do what you can for them," said Rush. "You have to have an instinct to deal with young people and put yourself in their place."

Doug Walker, Osawatomie industrial arts teacher, wrote, "Mike has that rare ability to motivate students. He activates the latent curiosity in high school students and exhorts them to excel.

"Mike Rush possesses the dedication, knowledge, compassion and energy to be a Master Teacher."

Bonnie Weingart

Media Specialist
Custer Hill Elementary School
USD 475 Fort Riley

Bonnie Weingart has been the media specialist at Custer Hill Elementary School since 1981. In addition, she has taught at Brookfield Elementary
School in Brookfield, Mo., and at the McClouth and Wakefield Elementary Schools.

A native of Newport News, Va., Weingart received her B.S. degree in 1968 and her M.S. degree in 1985, both from Kansas State University. She also took courses at William and Mary, St Benedict's, and Northeast Missouri State University.

Weingart is active in Phi Delta Kappa, the local and state National Education Associations, the Kansas Association of School Librarians, and the International Reading Association. Locally, she is a DAR and a member of the Beta Kappa chapter of Beta Sigma Phi. Weingart serves on the St. Zavier's School Board and has served as the board secretary and chair of the publicity committee.

Weingart has served on the Effective Schools Panel, and she has been on task forces to study social studies, reading/ language arts, and computer curriculums. Weingart also conducts computer classes for all grades in the Custer Hill Elementary School. In addition, Weingart serves on the research task force that coordinates the K-State graduate programs with the school district.

"I have always been a curriculum coordinator first and a librarian second," said Weingart. "I strongly feel that the faculty and students cannot reach their fullest potential as teacher and learner without the total involvement of the media specialist. That is my basic educational philosophy. It also is what makes my job such a challenging and rewarding experience.

"The role of the librarian/ media specialist has changed dramatically in the last few years. I know I will always be changing to meet that role."

Martha Zakrzewski

Fifth Grade Teacher
Wilson Elementary School
USD 489 Hays

Martha Zakrzewski has been at Wilson Elementary since 1980, teaching fifth grade since 1982. She has taught second grade and Chapter I reading, and has taught at Lincoln Elementary School and Washington Elementary School in Hays.

A native of Detroit , Mich., Zakrzewski received her B.S. degree from Wayne State University (Michigan) in 1966 and her M.S. degree in 1982 from Fort Hays State University. Under her leadership, Zakrzewski's students have won several Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics (KATM) contests, and become city champions in a Kansas trivia contest.

Zakrzewski represented U.S.D. #489 at Governor Carlin's Conference on Teacher Preparation and Certification. She was named to "Who's Who in American Education," and had a species of extinct mouse, "Hibbardomys marthae," named for her. Zakrzewski was one of 21 Kansas teachers to receive a scholarship for the Middle School Math Project.

Zakrzewski is active in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, KATM where she has been nominated for vice president of the elementary section, the local and state National Education Associations, and Alpha Delta Kappa. She is a member of the Fort Hays State Faculty Wives, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Friends of the Library and the Museum Association.

"You need humor in your teaching, so I try to have laughter in my classroom daily," said Zakrzewski. "I also try to convince children to look for challenges and I look for the 'gifted' in every child.

"Good teaching deals with content so I try to interrelate all content areas to let children see the meaning of what they are learning. Finally, teaching is teamwork. An environment of mutual respect between children, parents, teachers, administrators, and support staff must exist for positive learning to take place. We have to work hand-in-hand if we are to be successful in educating our young people."