Winder-Barrow High School French teacher Charles Jack Wilder has been chosen as Barrow County Schools’ teacher of the year for 2010-2011.
Wilder, a WBHS teacher since 2001, has been nominated four times for the prestigious award. In addition to being the school system’s teacher of the year, Wilder was also chosen as the WBHS teacher of the year and has been selected five times as the WBHS teacher of the month.
In addition to teaching all five levels of French classes, Wilder has served as a soccer and volleyball coach and has participated in numerous community service projects including the recent “2 G’s for Haiti.”
An advanced placement certified teacher, Wilder received his bachelor’s degree in foreign language education from the University of Georgia in 2001 and this year completed his master’s degree.
In his teacher of the year application, Wilder said he loves the French language and loves sharing his passion for the language with his students. Though he initially dreamed of becoming a doctor, Wilder credited his mother with instilling his desire to teach.
“My mother, a teacher, raised me to dream big,” he wrote. “She has been the biggest influence on why I decided to become a teacher. She would always come home from work exhausted but happy and with plenty of stories about the kids on her class. In a way, her students grew up alongside me and my brother and sister. I would often walk to her school from mine to read to her children; seeing how happy she was in the classroom was one of those lasting moments that influenced me to become a teacher.”
While Wilder may have opted not to pursue a career in medicine, he said his desire to help others still shows in the classroom.
“I observe each individual, assess their symptoms (learning styles) and prescribe the best medication for their diagnosis,” he wrote.
Barrow County Schools public relations coordinator Lisa Leighton said Wilder was chosen from a pool of very talented applicants. Leighton said Wilder’s extra effort in areas such as classroom technology and remedial instruction led to his selection as the district’s top teacher.
Wilder was notified of the honor in a surprise reception on May 13. School superintendent Wanda Creel and several school board members were on hand to present the award.
