Darlene Howald: Teacher Spotlight

The and Westfield Bank surprised science teacher Darlene Howald at Thursday with the Educator of the Month Award.

Having just shot a cannon out the back of a moving truck as a project on perspective (don't worry, she said she's got video of it), Howald thought she was being called to the front desk that morning to wrap up issues with North Canton police.

Instead, she was handed an award for excellence in teaching.

We sat down with Howald right after the surprise and asked her five questions about her career at North Canton Middle School.

Name: Darlene Howald
Hometown: Grew up near Detroit and moved to North Canton when she was in high school
Family: Husband John; daughter Christina, a student at ; and daughter Lizzie, a student at North Canton Middle School
Education: Graduated from Hoover High School in 1981; earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Akron while specializing in elementary and science; working on a master’s degree

North Canton Patch: How did you get into teaching? Did you always know you wanted to teach?

Darlene Howald: I was majoring in nursing, and decided halfway through I didn’t think that was the profession for me, and I had all this science background and decided I needed to look at something else. So I did career planning and placement services through the university, and it was kind of overwhelming: Everything they assessed said “be a teacher.” I was kind of thinking that in the back of my head, and as soon as I had that confirmation I immediately headed down that path and didn’t think twice.

Howald worked part-time for Canton City Schools doing GED instruction and adult literacy and also worked for Park Farms for about nine years doing training and development before becoming a plant manager. She went back to teaching at the age of 40.

I always missed teaching. I kept saying, “I’ve got to get back, I’ve got to get back.”

North Canton Patch: As a teacher, you serve as a role model for a lot of these kids, and I wanted to ask who did you look up to growing up, or even now, who do you find inspiration in?

Howald: I grew up in the '60s and '70s. Even back then I was focused on science and the space program. That was a really big deal to me, so anyone who was an astronaut or involved in that. I have to say some of my heroes growing up would have to be some of those early astronauts. I actually got a chance to sit with John Glenn for about half an hour one time. One of my students did a project that took us to the White House and I got to watch him get an award from the president, and in the course of that time John Glenn met with us. So I got to meet one of my heroes. People who have that tremendous courage to do something that’s never been done before, those people really inspire me.

And a lot of my heroes were just people I met in my daily life. When I was in college I lived with an 80-year-old woman and took care of her, and that was how I took care of my room and board. She was just an average person, but she really inspired me. I met her at a time in my life where I was young and trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and she was just one of those people who always listened, always gave me her honest opinion. And so I think a lot of heroes you just find in everyday life. And my dad was a hero, too. I lost my dad when I was really young, and he always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do.

North Canton Patch: What do you love most about teaching?

Howald: Being with the kids. It’s just watching them learn and get excited about something. It’s really not about the content. It’s about the relationships with kids. It’s just so rewarding to work with them and watch them grow. It’s just such a fun job. I’ve taught fifth grade through eighth grade. In middle school they’re just so interesting and they change so much. And they’re just so curious still. They really and truly are.

North Canton Patch: Your funniest, most embarrassing or most memorable moment you’ve had teaching here?

Howald: (Howald creates costumes for school plays.) I’ll never foreget I had a boy in fifth grade who was very quiet, worked very hard at school, I’m not sure that school was always really easy for him. He was that kid, every time you looked up he was just busy at his desk working — just the most serious kid you ever met in your life. And I will never forget the first time I saw him on stage. He was performing, and the music teacher had talked him into doing a little skit. And this kid got up and I saw a completely different child.

I can remember laughing so hard at this comedy routine. He’s a senior this year, and I’ve watched him in almost every play he’s done and he has turned into this amazing actor and singer, and I’m sure he’ll have the bug the rest of his life. It was the most miraculous thing to see something in him I don’t think he knew he had. I think he was as shocked as everyone else.

North Canton Patch: What qualities do you think make a good teacher?

Howald: Your focus has to be the kids. Your focus has to be the relationship with the kids. And that really has to be where you operate from. It’s this job where you get nine months to run at a sprint, and then you shut it all down and then you have three months to just think about it. You completely close it out. The kids get on the bus and you think “OK, I’m done with those kids. They’re going to move on to a new teacher next year” and you get this sense of closure and you can look back at it and say, “All right, what am I going to do to be better at it next year?” What other job do you get that? Where you get to do over every year? And a good teacher is really reflecting on that. “What do I do better? How do I make this a little bit better next year?”

About the award: 

The North Canton Area Chamber/Westfield Bank monthly “Educator of the Month” award honors a North Canton City Schools staff member who exemplifies excellence in education in their interaction with students, parents and other staff members.

During the course of the 2011-2012 award cycle one person from each of the district’s seven buildings will be honored. The Chamber has partnered with Westfield Bank and the  on the project. Each monthly winner will receive a plaque and a Starbucks gift basket, which includes a copy of CEO Howard Schultz’ "Onward" book. Schultz initiated Starbucks’ “Empowering Educators” program to highlight educators and school systems making a difference in the lives of their students and communities.