Meet Rebecca Snyder: 2009 Teacher of the Year

Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year says her own teachers were her inspiration

Rebecca Snyder, Pennsylvania’s newly honored Teacher of the Year, didn’t hesitate for a minute when asked what motivated her to become a teacher. “The greatest influences on my decision to become a teacher have been my own teachers, who believed in me and inspired me.”

Snyder went on to give many examples. “There are so many I could talk about. I remember Mr. Whitney, my sixth grade teacher who asked me to hold a beef heart and investigate its arteries as a way of studying the human heart and circulatory system. The same teacher took our class on our first overnight field trip to Washington, D.C. where I saw American history come alive…in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where I watched him run his finger across the etched name of a fallen friend, and then shed very real tears.

“Mrs. Ketterer, my sophomore English teacher, put her arm around my shoulder as I cried over her requiring me to write my essay over, again, for the fourth time because as she said, ‘This is good, but it could be great.’ She was not just teaching me how to write; she was showing me the way to turn tears into triumphs.”

The shout outs to Snyder’s former teachers go on and on. She credits them with teaching her an important life lesson – “that an influence need not be the stereotypical pat on the back – that it can, as well, be a disappointment or rebuke.”

Snyder says that learning to grow through such experiences was not always pleasant, but that it was a key part of her development. “My education ended up teaching me to challenge myself, and to see all setbacks as temporary. My schooling rooted in me a desire to give others that perspective.”

As a teacher of literature, Snyder says that she struggles with relevance everyday when she is trying to bring a 150 or 200-year-old text into a 21st century classroom. She says that as much as possible, she tries to get students to make personal connections to the characters and events, and to uncover the universality of great works by “all those dead guys.”

A new century's technology is the key. “I also invite them to explore themes and concepts using 21st century tools like Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story, and PowerPoint. They complete multi-media projects that stitch modern connections into their retelling, analysis, and exploration of the text.”

At the Teacher of the Year ceremony in Harrisburg, Education Secretary Zahorchak compared her to legendary public television personality, Fred Rogers. Snyder, however, demurs, “I am not worthy! I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Rogers once when he received an honorary degree from Saint Vincent College during my senior year. The choir sang at the ceremony, and as a member, I got to stand very close to where he gave his acceptance speech. Afterwards, he stayed to talk and shake hands with us. There was an amazing warmth about him. When he looked at me, it was as though he could see right through me, the part others may miss. His commitment to education and to children continues to inspire many of us. I was honored even to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mr. Fred Rogers.”

Snyder, an active member and building representative for the Greater Latrobe Education Association, feels that there is much PSEA can do for new teachers. “Empower them by arming them with information, encouragement and support. I think young teachers, especially those just out of school, come with misinformation about what the union is and does for teachers. It is so much more than just a means for negotiating salaries. I think if young teachers saw how powerful a difference they could make in the field of education in general by getting involved in their local organizations or at the state level, then they may begin to see they do have a say in making positive changes in education.”

As for her one piece of advice to new teachers, “Leave the door open.”

She went on to explain, “As wonderful as it is to have your own classroom, I think a teacher’s most powerful lessons are those born from collaboration and conversations with other teachers – those from within your own department or grade level, but especially those from across departments and grade levels. Young and old, new and experienced, if the door stays open, teachers can all build lessons on the very best ideas.”

Snyder, who has taught for ten years at Greater Latrobe Senior High School, says she plans to make teaching her life-long career. “I am a teacher at heart. I don’t think you could stop me from teaching. I don’t see myself teaching the same subject or even at the same level for the rest of my career. I would love to teach music some day, or even try my hand at elementary education. But I think you’ll find me in some sort of classroom on the day I retire.”