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May 7
Teachers inspire success, smiles

Mauri Rapp Abington Journal Correspondent

Editor’s Note: In honor of national Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4 to 10, The Abington Journal requested nominations from parents and students regarding teachers who had made an impact. The winner, first runner up and second runner up are featured here, along with a sampling of the nomination letters. For their prize, the three winning teachers will receive complimentary one-year subscriptions to The Abington Journal.

Abington Journal Photos/Mauri Rapp

Wnning teacher, Donna Chase, at left teaches German at Abington Heights High School. She was nominated by Maria Fanning, far left. Below left, first runner up Heather Bichler, a teacher at South Abington Elementary School, is shown with student Claire Traweek, whose letter helped in Bichler’s selection. Below right is second runner up Herman Little. Little teaches physical education at Howard Gardner School of Discovery and is shown with Toli Epsom, the student who nominated him.

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Donna Chase, Winner

Abington Heights High School German teacher

Maria Fanning’s sons were so excited for their mother to nominate Donna Chase as their favorite teacher that Fanning found herself scrambling to The Abington Journal’s office to slip her nomination under the door at 11 p.m. on the deadline date. Fanning said that she and her sons had planned to nominate Chase last year but missed the deadline. The reason for their eagerness is clear: two of her sons are fluent in German thanks to Chase’s teachings. Additionally, Andrew Fanning completed an internship in Germany at Volkswagen and currently works for a German car company. This type of success is not unusual for Chase’s students; several of her former German students have attended school in Germany on Fulbright exchange programs.

Mrs. (or, as her students call her, Frau) Chase began her career at Abington Heights High School in 1979 after earning her master’s degree in German Studies. Initially hired to replace a German teacher who was out on sabbatical, Chase has taught at the school ever since. Her parents encouraged her to take education classes so she had something to fall back on, but when she walked into a classroom to student teach she realized that teaching was where her passion lay. “I realized ‘I can do this,’” she said, “it’s the same feeling you get when you see a student begin to grasp the language and they say ‘I can do this.’” Mrs. Chase says she fell in love with the German language because of the logical pattern to it. She also explained that German is the most commonly spoken language in Western European countries, and that it was the first language that many citizens of Eastern Bloc countries learned after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Chase has several methods of keeping students interested in learning, including scripting films in German so that students can both hear and see the language. Her students also play German vocabulary bingo and Jeopardy. “I never show just to show,” Chase says of her methods, adding that she always listens to her students’ input on whether or not a lesson has helped them learn. Fanning said she has seen the positive result of Chase’s teaching methods. “My sons always enjoyed her class,” Fanning said. “She has an imaginative way of teaching.”

Chase also says that students form a tight-knit group within her class because it provides the needed structure in a high school student’s otherwise hectic schedule. She also encourages her students to continually use the language even outside of the classroom. “I tell them ‘ein tag ohne Deutschen ist ein tag ohne sonnenschein.’” Chase said. Translated, that means “a day without German is a day without sunshine.”

Heather Bichler,

First runner up

South Abington Elementary School

With so many of the students who responded to our Teacher Appreciation Week contest choosing Heather Bichler as an Outstanding Teacher, it was hard to select just one letter to represent the way her students feel about her. After earning a degree in a double major of psychology and sociology from Moravian College, then working as a therapeutic support staff member, the call of teaching became too great for Miss Bichler to ignore. An elementary certification from Keystone College enabled the Waverly native to achieve her goal, thus impacting the lives of students like Claire Traweek. Originally from Texas, Traweek began attending South Abington Elementary in March, and Bichler has already made the fourth grader feel right at home. Traweek said that Bichler’s imagination and ways of expressing herself are what makes her a great teacher. “It’s that light bulb moment that you see as a teacher -- that moment when you know your students are beginning to understand what you are teaching – that makes teaching worthwhile,” said Bichler.

Herman Little,

Second runner up

Howard Gardner School of Discovery

Among all of Toli Epsom’s reasons for choosing Herman Little as his favorite teacher, his top reason is evident the moment one meets Little. “See how he always smiles!” Toli said, as his beloved Physical Education Teacher patiently mediated a kickball game.

A resident of Reeders, which is near Tannersville, Little makes the trek to Howard Gardner School for Discovery in Scranton every Friday. He said enjoying the success he sees in his students makes the drive worthwhile. “I went into this for the kids. That’s basically what it’s all about,” he said with his trademark grin. Educated at Jersey City State College, Little has been teaching Phys. Ed. for 10 years. In addition to his work at Howard Gardner School, he also teaches basketball at day cares in the area. “I had no idea that he did this,” Little said, in reaction to Toli’s nomination of him as an Outstanding Teacher. “You never know how much of an impact you have until a student does something like this.”