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Four Accomplished Students to Honor Teacher Rapid City Journal April 28, 2009 This isn't the first time U.S. history teacher Scott Tubbs of Rapid City Stevens High School has been honored at the annual Evening of Excellence, but it is the most students—four—who have chosen him the same year as an influential teacher in their lives in what has become a special tradition for local graduating seniors and their teachers. "It's hard to find the words, to be honest," Tubbs said. "For students of that caliber to think so highly of me is certainly a very cherished moment." But Tubbs wants the evening to be about the students. "It's really all about them, and it should be," he said. "It's a wonderful night for the students, the parents, and the teachers." The event, planned for Tuesday, honors the academic, athletic, and artistic accomplishments of the top five percent of Central and Stevens high schools' graduating classes.
To teach history properly, Tubbs said, it's important to study an issue or event from all angles. He says he tries to teach his students to consider both sides of the coin. "Sometimes, in fact, there are more than two sides to consider. Every event and person we come into contact with in history deserves balanced consideration. It means the student keeps an open mind, and that's pleasing to me." Tubbs has been a teacher for 27 years. The first five were as a civics teacher at West Junior High School, and the past 22 have been as a history teacher at Stevens. He was also an adjunct assistant professor at South Dakota Tech for a short time. When he started teaching, he recalled the five or six things he disliked most as a student—and worked hard to avoid them in his classroom. And he thought of several things he really appreciated as a student and tried to replicate them. "For me, 99 percent of my professional passion and energy goes into what's happening in my classroom," Tubbs said. One of the students who chose Tubbs is Larissa Dohn. She chose Tubbs because she said he was always willing to listen to her and talk, regardless of what kind of day it was. Dohn also noted Tubbs attended several choir performances, of which she is a member, and always had an uplifting word for her afterwards. Dohn is headed to North Central University in Minneapolis and plans to focus on English education with a possible minor in music or psychology. Karlie Haug, another of the students who selected Tubbs, said she chose him because he was one of her first teachers with personality. "He's passionate about what he does, and he made it fun for everyone," commented Haug, who will major in science and play soccer at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. "I didn't know a lot about history, but he made it exciting. He put it in perspective we could appreciate." In addition to Dohn and Haug, Keri Lund (South Dakota School of Mines) and Makenzy Sufficool (Gonzaga University) also selected Tubbs. Six Questions for Tubbs Who are the other Evening of Excellence students who have selected you as their most memorable teacher? Jennifer Hasvold (Duke University) in 2001; Laura Doshier (University of Missouri) in 2003; Anne Doshier (South Dakota State University) in 2005; Andrew Doshier (Augustana College), Brendan Feehan (University of Nebraska), and Madeline Frost (Colorado College) in 2008; Adam Brubakken (U.S. Air Force Academy) and Sierra Schepper (U.S. Air Force Academy) in 2011; Melissa Bucknall (University of Nebraska) and Gillian Spangler (College of Wooster) in 2012; Melissa Petersen (University of Nebraska) in 2013; Ashley Battisti (UCLA) in 2014; Nathan Bolton (Belmont Abbey College), Mark Poston (Montana State University), Shaunak Shende (Brown University), and Maya Van Nuys (University of Kansas) in 2014. What else about you professionally is there to know? Over the years, I've tried to remain current and active within my dual profession of education and history. I like to learn and I realize that professional expertise is an ongoing journey. In that regard, I recall a post-grad course entitled "The Master Teacher" offered through Kansas State University. It was the single most beneficial period of professional study I ever completed. I've participated in some district curriculum projects and in-house committee work, served as clinical faculty for Project SELECT, spent time as department chair, and taken my turn as National Honor Society faculty representative, although I'll admit I didn't get a big kick out of any of that business. My involvement was motivated purely by sense of professional responsibility. I enjoy researching history and writing about it. Some of my articles have been published here and there. I was invited to review an upcoming edition of The American Nation by John Garraty. It's one of the foremost U.S. history college textbooks out there. In 2010 and 2015, I served as a College Board reader/scorer for the APUSH National Exam. I was candidate for the 2012 National History Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History; in 2014, I was one of ten Teachers of Distinction in the Rapid City School District. It's always nice to know that somebody out there appreciates what I do and how I go about it! What was the best moment in American history? What was the worst time? America has experienced some grim episodes for sure. The Vietnam fiasco immediately comes to mind. The conflict got so out-of-hand that Americans were fighting communists abroad and friends and neighbors—sometimes family members, even—at home. The hell finally ended in Southeast Asia, but not in the United States. Alcohol and drug abuse, widespread homelessness, tragic effects of Agent Orange, rampant social dysfunction, political ineptitude, and the list goes on. 58,000 American deaths for that? As for the best of times, I truly believe that the United States just keeps evolving from one pinnacle moment to the next. Americans are very resilient. America endured the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Watergate scandal, the 9/11 attack, and life for most Americans in the aftermath was better than ever. The single greatest American achievement, in my opinion, was the formation of the United States Constitution. Thomas Jefferson called the group of men who accomplished that task "demigods." I think their finished product confirms Jefferson's description. What is your classroom credo? I'm not a huge fan of exhaustive rules and regulations. For me, all classroom activity boils down to what my students have come to recognize as "Tubbs's 3 Rs"—responsibility, respect, and reality. Everything within my four walls falls under this umbrella. It's full-proof, certainly for my classroom, and I happen to think it works pretty well for life in general, too. I'm committed to providing my students with every opportunity to learn. A big part of that is avoiding what I call "Education's 3 Evil Es"—enabling, entitlement, and excuses. If I allow them to creep through my classroom door, then I'm robbing my students of premium educational opportunity. Simply put, I'm not doing my job. Who are your favorite Presidents? George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson are my favorites. I have high regard for Harry Truman, who faced the most agonizing decision—whether or not to use the atomic bomb—in all of United States history. Among the Presidents considered outstanding, I struggle most with Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Woodrow Wilson. I classify John Quincy Adams and Jimmy Carter as great Americans, though their White House years were mediocre. Richard Nixon, needless to say, was a national nightmare of huge proportion. Describe a perfect day for you. Family. The details aren't that important—just time with my wife Renae and my daughter Kailey. |
