5 District Five teachers receive statewide social studies awards

IRMO, SC – Five teachers from Lexington-Richland School District Five have been given teaching excellence awards from the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies.

This year’s SCCSS Palmetto Teachers of Distinction awardees include: Dutch Fork High social studies teacher Steve Cox, Chapin Middle social studies teacher Susan Wise, Ballentine Elementary fifth grade teacher Paulette Moses and Lake Murray Elementary fifth grade teacher Danielle Hance. Spring Hill High School’s Brea Amick received the group’s Thomas Lowell “Tom” Buckland Memorial Teacher of Excellence Award. The SCCSS’ awards were presented during the council’s annual conference in Columbia on Oct. 4.

District Five Social Studies Coordinator Melony Sanford said, “I am extremely proud of all of the District Five teachers who were honored by the South Carolina Council for the Social Studies at the annual SCCSS conference. These five teachers all exude enthusiasm for social studies and truly make social studies relevant to our students in District Five.”

Forty-three Palmetto Teachers of Distinction Awards were presented to educators statewide. The South Carolina Council for the Social Studies is a professional organization for educators in private and public schools and colleges. SCCSS officials say the group aims to promote higher standards in social studies curriculum and instruction, promote closer professional relationships among teachers of social studies and represent the social studies profession.

For teachers Steve Cox and Brea Amick, the key to teaching social studies is making the subject relevant to students.

“The key to history is relevance,” said Cox, who’s been teaching for 29 years and was part of the faculty that opened Dutch Fork High School in 1992. “Successful history teachers make a link from the past to the present and provide students with a way to begin to make sense of the world today. Good history educators teach students the skills of critical thinking and point of view to help them understand the complex world in which we live.”

Amick added, “Students have to take ownership of their learning in the classroom…We also try to make lessons real and relevant to our students. When you do those two things, it’s really easy for students to make those connections, make them understand the subject matter and learn something about the world around them too.”