Teacher reaches students in different ways
Martin Briggs an educator at Critchfield Elementary in LaPorte
The above quote was how Mrs. Carter taught little Jeffy Manes and the rest of his ragamuffin fourth-grade classmates at Lake Village Elementary the distance of the planets from the sun in order from closest to furthest.
Obviously, I've never forgotten.
My interview with Martin Briggs took place in his classroom at Critchfield Elementary School in LaPorte, where he teaches fourth grade.
Briggs, 60, lives in Mill Creek near the Kankakee River. He is single and a very active member of the Church of God in LaPorte.
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“I grew up between LaPorte and Michigan City and attended Michigan City Rogers High School,” Briggs said. “My parents had a small farm, so I always had chores to do. I'd earn money by selling eggs. Then I had my first beef steer when I was in 4-H. After selling my steer, I bought a riding lawn mower and starting mowing yards. I just kept doing things so I could earn money and go to college.
“There were eight of us kids all together. Neither one of my parents finished high school. They taught us the value of hard work, but also taught us the value of an education. They wanted us to go to college if we could.”
“Anderson University, in Anderson, Ind. It's a small Christian college. I planned on majoring in psychology because I didn't think teachers made enough money. During my sophomore year at Anderson, I had to take an education class as part of the psych program. Once I got into that class it was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is who I am. I relate to these people. This is my calling, my passion.' ”
“Yes. I had to stop all my classes. I had to work from then on to try to graduate in three years instead of four years. I earned my master's degree at Purdue North Central.”
“That is correct. There used to be more when I was first hired, but they're not paying enough now. Many of them are getting out.”
“For 10 years, but I've been teaching in the LaPorte School System for 38.”
“There are different ways we all learn. If you match the style with the student, they can do well. Some students learn better by sight, some by writing, some students actually learn better by movement, like bouncing a basketball while repeating an equation or whatever.
“You have to figure out what they know, what they don't know and go back and try to get that. But also, you have to try to build confidence. If students think they can't do well, they'll make more mistakes. There are studies shown that the brain reacts differently when a student makes a mistake, but is confident: ‘Oh, this is a mistake. I'm going to learn from that.' That student's brain reacts differently than a student who feels like he or she can't learn. When those students make a mistake, neurons shut down.”
“You also have to let children be able to say an answer without being ridiculed. That's one thing we tell the children, ‘Don't you dare cut someone down for an answer.' I'll say something like, ‘Hey, that was great math thinking, but you missed this part.' You gotta talk about the whole thing there. You gotta encourage them. Then they won't shut down and are ready to give you another answer. Then they're willing to go out there when it's a problem that's a little bit harder than what they're used to. They have to take a risk.”
“It's always interesting to hear about former students. I just received a letter the other day from a student. I've had some students who became high school valedictorians. I have one former student that I kayaked with last summer who is at Harvard.”
“Yes, I kept three students after school. I do that twice a week, just helping them with homework, trying to figure out where they're having problems. There also are a couple of students who come in early in the morning. I work with them the same way.”
“No. There are a lot of teachers all around this area of the state who work extra. You would be surprised at how many teachers are here on weekends. You'd be surprised at how many teachers are here on Friday evenings. There's a lot to do. We have great administrators here, but their hands are tied from the rules of the state.”
“I try to pitch the ball where they can hit it. Boy, when they do make contact, they're all for it. I had a child who didn't know how to do an expanded form in math.”
“I started him out with some easier problems and all of a sudden it clicked. He was doing the problems on the board and didn't want to go back to his seat. He kept saying, ‘Give me another one. Give me another one. I was born for this.' You see that once in a while.”
“I had some good ones. There was a teacher that I had in third grade at Springfield Elementary. Her name was Mrs. Taylo. It was the first time I had a teacher who made learning fun. On Fridays, she would let us do the Friday Afternoon News. We could bring in news articles and one of us would be the newscaster who would read them. Two students would be chosen to do commercials. We would do commercials, the news, we'd learn about the news, we'd practice reading. ... Whatever we did, she encouraged us. I've never forgotten how Betty Taylo made learning fun.”
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Every other year, elementary teachers are nominated for the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. In 2014, Martin Briggs was one of four finalist math teachers from the Hoosier state sent to the national level in Washington, D.C., where one would be chosen to represent his state. Mr. Briggs was the one.
Somewhere, Mrs. Taylo is nodding her head in approval.
Somewhere, Mrs. Carter is shaking her head in disbelief that I wrote this.
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