Last year our department initiated the "JMU High School Physics/Astronomy Teacher of the Year award",
intended to be an award offered annually in recognition of a high school physics/astronomy teacher
who exhibits exceptional dedication
to teaching physics/astronomy and has an outstanding record of going
above and beyond in providing education and guidance necessary for their
students' success. Thus, the nominations for the award come
from former high school students who are currently enrolled at JMU in STEM disciplines and take physics courses in our department.
We are proud to announce that
the 2017 recipient of the JMU High School Physics Teacher of the Year Award
is
Mr. Charles (Jon) Goetz
Science High School Teacher at Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville, MD
Congratulations!!
The student who has nominated Mr. Goetz is Aliyah Hall, currently a physics major at JMU. Here is Aliyah in her own words describing the exceptional attributes of her nominee:
"Mr. Goetz incorporates fun techniques into his teaching skills that make students want to learn what he is teaching. His sense of humor and ability to incorporate it into the class made learning calculus and physics enjoyable for all. He is extremely educated in his field and can answer any and all questions that students ask him. He does not rest until he knows all of his students feel confident in his class, and many students prosper more in his class than in others. He is dedicated to making sure all of his students understand the curriculum, and uses entertaining techniques to make all students excited to come to his class. From creating his own physics games to showing us funny YouTube videos and having us find how physics applies to them, he makes learning math and science a fun and easy activity."
Mr. Goetz will be visiting us at JMU on Tuesday, November 7th when he will get to meet with our faculty and students, see our facilities, and receive a gift in recognition of the award. Feel free to join us in welcoming Mr. Goetz at JMU!
This fall,
our second annual of this award program, we had a pretty good response from
students with 10 nominations submitted (6 physics majors and 4 engineering
majors).
To all the students who took the time to put forward their nominations we send you a big THANK YOU! We
truly appreciate you joining efforts in recognizing those high school
teachers out there who have made a positive impact on your studies of
physics and related fields!!
