2008 Woodie Awards
New Earth Science Teacher blows in from the Foot Hills
Hughs brings award winning teaching for meteorology classes
Harvey Duncan
Issue date: 3/9/06 Section: News
Come rain, sleet, or snow, Noah Hughes will be in class… partly because he teaches meteorology and will know when and if things will get choppy. Well, that, and the fact he is an award winning teacher for his ability to relate to students for better comprehension.
In fact Hughes received an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Award in 2004 for the far west region while a teacher at Sonora High School, and did some part time work at Columbia College. Considering he had just started teaching, Hughes was very surprised. But the acknowledgment that he makes the classes interesting for everyone was a plus. Audiences are always going to be diverse, and students have differing interests in science, so knowing how to relate things to the student perspectives is a real skill.
Why did he want to be a teacher? The decision came about when he was getting his bachelor's in geology at the University of Colorado. What he wanted was a job where he could be focused and to keep learning over the years, not to mention he likes the fact that he gets vacation the same time as the students. His family background includes other teachers.
Now that he's officially been transferred to MJC East (last fall), Hughes says he needs to reorganize and get into the swing of college curriculum, but it's coming along quite well so far.
"Working at MJC has been a real pleasure," he says, commenting that he also enjoys the support from staff and students. "Lab is great because it's more interactive."
There's nothing quite like California. He likes how the Golden State has so many different climates, he says, and gets a kick out of the "crazy people."
Another passion of his is to go white water kayaking in the Sierras and skiing; that way he can hang out in the hydrologic system. After asking him if he does water skiing as well, he replied that he understands the concepts of engines, but doesn't know how to work on them…although he does fish.
Even though he lives in Sonora, he still snakes his way on down the hill every morning for his students. Sure he could teach at Columbia College, which is practically next door, but he is a big science buff (seeing the geologic sites up and down the hill is fascinating), likes our campus and obviously enjoys a bit of adventure.
In fact Hughes received an Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Award in 2004 for the far west region while a teacher at Sonora High School, and did some part time work at Columbia College. Considering he had just started teaching, Hughes was very surprised. But the acknowledgment that he makes the classes interesting for everyone was a plus. Audiences are always going to be diverse, and students have differing interests in science, so knowing how to relate things to the student perspectives is a real skill.
Why did he want to be a teacher? The decision came about when he was getting his bachelor's in geology at the University of Colorado. What he wanted was a job where he could be focused and to keep learning over the years, not to mention he likes the fact that he gets vacation the same time as the students. His family background includes other teachers.
Now that he's officially been transferred to MJC East (last fall), Hughes says he needs to reorganize and get into the swing of college curriculum, but it's coming along quite well so far.
"Working at MJC has been a real pleasure," he says, commenting that he also enjoys the support from staff and students. "Lab is great because it's more interactive."
There's nothing quite like California. He likes how the Golden State has so many different climates, he says, and gets a kick out of the "crazy people."
Another passion of his is to go white water kayaking in the Sierras and skiing; that way he can hang out in the hydrologic system. After asking him if he does water skiing as well, he replied that he understands the concepts of engines, but doesn't know how to work on them…although he does fish.
Even though he lives in Sonora, he still snakes his way on down the hill every morning for his students. Sure he could teach at Columbia College, which is practically next door, but he is a big science buff (seeing the geologic sites up and down the hill is fascinating), likes our campus and obviously enjoys a bit of adventure.