PORT ANGELES — Teaching science to ninth-graders is John Gallagher’s dream job.
“It’s the best job in the world — teaching science here in Port Angeles,” Gallagher said on Wednesday.
He has taught at the Port Angeles High School for 14 years of his 20-year career.
That enthusiasm is a major reason Gallagher’s colleagues named him the Washington State Science Teacher of the Year at the high school level at the Washington Science Teachers Association annual conference in Moses Lake last weekend.
Gallagher, who teaches ninth-grade science and astronomy and geology to juniors and seniors, “has tremendous energy and enthusiasm . . . for working with others, sharing the numerous curiosities of the world around us and the insights science has provided for our collective understanding,” said Chris Stark, science specialist for the North Central Educational Service District, adding that he had known Gallagher for eight years.
“John engages both students and adults to stop and explore for their own understanding the natural world around us,” Stark said in a written statement.
Humble acceptance
Gallagher said he was honored, but added, “It should have been a team award.
“I’m not acting in a vacuum. We have a ninth-grade science team,” which also includes Derek Johnson, John Henry and Jennifer Duncan-Taylor, he said.
“Without them, I couldn’t teach anything.
“We have the best science team that I could imagine working with.”
Four categories are recognized in the annual award: elementary, middle school, high school and higher education.
The award is based on teaching, community outreach and community service.
‘Star parties,’ teaching
Gallagher hosts “star parties” at Hurricane Ridge, setting up telescopes and showing participants the stars.
He also teaches master’s level courses in astronomy and geology to other teachers in field courses during summers and online in the evenings.
Until this year, he worked as an astronomy educator for Starlab, teaching other teachers how to use a planetarium program in their classrooms.
But working with students is what really enthuses him.
“That’s the most important thing I can do, being excited about teaching science at the high school level,” he said Wednesday.
“The science education of students comes first.”
Two of his students participated in the Washington Aerospace Scholars program last summer, working as interns at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. About 60 students statewide are accepted as interns each summer, he said.
On Wednesday, Gallagher was working with students on a class project building catapults.
“We’ve been studying simple machines and the human body,” he said, explaining that the catapult, “which is a type of lever,” illustrates how certain parts of the human body work.
“It’s a fun activity. It helps the kids learn,” he said.
Team nationally known
Gallagher said the ninth-grade science team at the Port Angeles High School is “well known on the national level.”
“This award is not about me. It’s about the work the four of us do to teach ninth-graders.”
Henry is a curriculum leader across the state, Gallagher said, while Duncan-Taylor was part of the Human Genome Project, and Johnson is known for physics education.
“It’s an amazing group of people. The ninth-grade program is highly regarded throughout the state. We travel to other districts and teach how to train ninth-graders.”
The team’s teaching method is not by the book.
“We look at things from an inquiry standpoint,” he said.
A “storyline” throughout the year puts aspects of science learned earlier together with later segments.
For instance, students designed sports drinks in September. In March, as they learn how the human body functions.
“They now realize why [the sports drinks] actually work,” he said.
“It’s a storyline that puts together the whole year and keeps students actively engaged in their learning,” he said.
Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree in geology at the University of Washington and a master’s in geoscience from Mississippi State University.
His first love was astronomy.
“My first memory, at 3 years old, was the moon landing,” he said. “I’ve been hooked on science ever since.”
He switched to geology in college, “but I didn’t like research.”
Then, he discovered teaching.
“I loved it,” he said.
He taught in Twin Falls, Idaho, before beginning work in Port Angeles.
The Washington Science Teachers Association award gave him a certificate of achievement and an honorarium of $500 to be spent as he wishes.
Gallagher was nominated for the award and then was invited to submit a resume and three letters of support.
For more information, see the Washington Science Teachers Association Web site at www.wsta.net/.
________
Managing Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
