The Hughson High School Teacher of the Month of March is Mr. Baker! In just 5 short years at HHS, Mr. Baker has become an extremely valuable member of the agricultural department, Hughson High School, and the Hughson community as a whole.
Currently, he teaches Agriculture Equipment Repair 1 and 2 (Welding), Agriculture Mechanics Survey, and Agriculture Woods (1 and 2). In these courses Mr. Baker recognizes that “skills [students] learn can serve them in many ways throughout their life.”
This is undoubtedly a fact as Mr. Baker explains students “are able to make simple repairs around the house” and “ may decide to turn the skills they learn into a future career.”
In fact, one of Mr. Baker’s favorite memories of teaching at HHS was “having a former student return to share a story from their life after graduation.”
One part of the curriculum that enriches the portfolio of students looking for a career associated with Agricultural Equipment Repair is the OSHA Safety Certification. For those who may not know, OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and competition of the safety course is a requirement of many welding and related positions. To be certified straight out of high school is impressive on a resume. According to Mr. Baker the student was even able to “earn a position with a local company and…bypass certain training due to them already having the OSHA Safety Certification.”
What makes this such a special moment is that Mr. Baker was able to push the student in a way that will now benefit them immensely, he describes the student as “very grateful” for this. It goes without saying that this made Mr Baker, “very proud for the student!”
With that said, no accomplishment is insignificant. As Mr. Baker says, “it is always empowering to guide them along their journey.”
As for the qualities that make Mr. Baker the best man to guide these students on their journey, there are many. A former student of his describes,“[Mr. Baker] is a very good man and likes helping students and wants to see us succeed and wishes us the best” states former students. When asked what is done to help students understand material in the course, Mr. Baker explains a “learn by doing” approach that lets students be more independent and practice problem solving. After all, they may “build something that may have started from a simple drawing, the look of self-pride is priceless,” Mr. Baker explains.
Of course this wouldn’t be possible without Mr. Baker’s patience and ability to let students understand things at their own pace, apply their knowledge in a practical sense, and approach the classroom with honesty and sincerity.
Of course, no teacher can do such excellent work in their classroom without support from the community. There is nothing a teacher at HHS may appreciate more than the standard of support that is fostered at Hughson. Mr. Baker has a special dedication to HHS and after five years teaching here, can communicate, “Hughson is a very special place. I believe we have a community that will always support student learning and provide opportunities for life experiences.” Not only that but, “We have teachers on this campus that care about their students as if they were their own. I have learned a tremendous amount from my colleagues in the Agriculture Department as well as the great teaching staff across all of HHS!”
As teacher of the month, Mr. Baker has also displayed exceptional qualities when interacting with staff, students, and the community through the influential and important community work that the agricultural department frequently takes part in. Just as Mr. Baker has learned from others, hopefully students will be able to take away his key piece of advice, “Get involved! Find YOUR purpose and place! When you do this, you will have the chance to leave your legacy for many students to learn from and become inspired by in the future!”
Mr. Baker is certainly following his own advice and creating a legacy as an educator that students and colleagues will be inspired by.
