The Sandspur

Issue date: 2/12/07 Section: Holt News

Every nontraditional student knows it can be very taxing to balance the required dedication of being a student with the numerous duties that already fill their
hectic schedules.

With the strain continuing education puts on a student's finances and life, students want to be challenged and inspired.

One of the most devastating events for an enthusiastic scholar is sitting in a classroom feeling it was a waste of money and time.

Hamilton Holt classes are full of students
dedicated to higher learning because they
want to be there and they understand the importance of a college education. They
desire to do more than show up and get a passing grade.

They expect more than to simply be lectured for two and a half hours. The old saying, "Those who can do, those who can't teach," is quite backwards in the message it tries to convey.

It takes nothing more than knowledge to work in most fields but teaching is about more than the facts that can be found in a
book. It takes a special person to teach.

Not everyone has the talent to make learning enjoyable, to generate lively discussions and bring real world issues into the classroom to explain theories that
read like foreign languages.

It takes a special person to make sure a student does not feel like they are sitting in a classroom wasting time rather than gaining knowledge.

The opportunity a teacher has to influence and alter a student's life does not end in high school. The professors who stand before Hamilton Holt students have an
even greater challenge than someone who struggles with tired and uninterested students.

They are the professors of the experienced, of parents and managers in the workplace.
These are minds that are shaped by more than textbooks, pop culture and parents'
opinions.

Every semester it never fails that students
leave a classroom praising the talents of a professor to every classmate and friend they can find. There are professors who
every student should experience and Hamilton Holt students have the opportunity
to acknowledge their brilliant professors.

Each year since 1984, the Hamilton Holt school has recognized teaching excellence with the Distinguished Teaching award. It
is presented to the professor chosen by Hamilton Holt students during the spring semester.

In 1988, the award was renamed the Walter E. Barden Distinguished Teaching Award to
honor a dedicated member of the Hamilton Holt community. Walter E. Barden's affiliation with the Hamilton Holt School dates back to the early sixties when he taught mathematics.

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