Madison County teacher wins humanities scholarship
HUNTSVILLE — One sixth-grade teacher in the Madison County school system will have a chance to bring new educational experiences to her students thanks to a scholarship from the Alabama Humanities Foundation.
Tammy Brown, who teaches social studies at Central School, was one of five recipients of the Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship gives K-6 educators $1,000 to attend a conference, create programs or buy classroom materials in support of history and civics. Brown said she is “honored” to receive the grant and will use it toward primary source materials and lockboxes.
“I love history, and I strive daily to show my students how much I love it and why, in hopes of developing in them a love for history as well,” Brown said.
Brown said she first learned of “Breakout” boxes’ power as a teaching tool when she sat in on a colleague’s A+ College Ready workshop with several high school teachers. A+ College Ready is an Alabama initiative that partners with middle and high schools to promote high academic expectations for students to better prepare them for what comes next.
“I had used digital breakouts before for games on the last day of school but never with documents,” Brown said.
From there, her eyes were opened to the possibilities of using documents in games and activities like the Breakout boxes to teach social studies in a fun way.
“My students will analyze documents as they look for clues to open the boxes and then be able to answer document-based questions about the historical event,” Brown explained.
Brown said she also hopes to use the grant to research more ways to make learning history even more exciting for her students. History, according to Brown, is crucial in the classroom to prepare students for the future. Though it is not directly tested in standardized tests, she said many sections still incorporate history.
“Not only do we as adults need to know our history in order to critically evaluate the things we see happening in our world, but our students need history instruction in order to be successful on standardized tests,” Brown said. “ … One way I, as a teacher, can make sure my students don’t encounter the roadblock of understanding while reading is to make sure my students know history and are familiar with reading historical articles and documents.”
The Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship was established in honor of Jenice Riley, a teacher who was the daughter of former Alabama Governor and First Lady, Bob and Patsy Riley. According to a news release, Jenice “had a passion for teaching and fostered creativity and a desire to learn in her students.” She also encourage parents to become more involved and promoted better educational programs at the community level.
“Educating a student is a team effort, and your team is only as good as the weakest link,” Brown said. “I never want to be that link.”
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Other recipients of this year’s scholarship include Janet Leffard, a PACE teacher at Olive J. Dodge Elementary School in Mobile; Karen S. Grimes, a librarian at Salem Elementary School in Orrville; and Jana Hadley and Wendy Turner, fourth-grade teachers at White Plains Elementary School in Anniston.
To learn more about the Alabama Humanities Foundation, visit alabamahumanities.org.
