Beech Tree News Network

Campbellsville University honored 166 teachers from 58 school districts throughout Kentucky by receiving the Campbellsville University Excellence in Teaching Award Saturday, May 10 at the Ransdell Chapel on the CU campus.
    Bill Goodman, host of “Kentucky Tonight” and “One to One” on Kentucky Educational Television, spoke to the approximate 400 teachers and their guests by discussing “What is a teacher for?”
Goodman told several stories of successful people including Jesse Stuart, Pearl Arredondo, Ramsey Musallam, Adam Braun and Marina Keegan, all of whom brought their talents to make the world a better place.
Goodman said these people had inspiring teachers in their lives who taught them to write, to “get it right” instead of “getting it wrong,” were driven and had passion, had curiosity, life changing experiences and intense reflection.
One story was of Adam Braun, who made the world his classroom by going throughout the world asking one child per country he visited, “If you could have anything in the world, what would you want most?”  The children from Hawaii, to Beijing and Vietnam, wanted to dance, to have a book and to have their mother be healthy.
But one little boy, a street beggar in India, wanted a pencil. Braun gave him a No. 2 yellow pencil, and Braun thought, “Could something as small as a pencil, the foundation of an education, unlock a child’s potential?”
Today, his non-profit organization has built schools in Africa, Asia and Latin America and delivered over 5 million educational hours to children in poverty. In 2012, he was named to the Forbes “30 Under 30 List.”
      Goodman quoted Jesse Stuart who said, “We are fortunate to be born in America. Teaching is a calling in the old fashion pulpit sense…teaching is spiritual and has to do with values, with how we choose to live our lives.
“As a teacher, I have tried to go beyond the textbooks into the character – stressing honesty, goodness and make each life count for something.”
Goodman told the teachers that our children and grandchildren depend on them every day, and “You are to be honored and congratulated much more than you are.”
In conclusion, he asked all the teachers to stand and recite together: “I am a teacher! I am to be honored and lifted up every day! I am to be celebrated! I am a teacher.”
Dr. Michael V. Carter, president of Campbellsville University, told the teachers he was proud of them and that education is the “most powerful force on the planet.”
“Teaching is the first of all disciplines,” he said. “Thank you for the outstanding job you do for us.”
He quoted Titus 2:7 that says: “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech...” He said the teachers being honored embody those traits.
Dr. Donna Hedgepath, dean of the School of Education, quoted: “Teaching is a profession that creates all others.” She said she taught 10 years in the public school system, and “I really do respect your work.”
Cyndi Crowder Chadwick, a 2006 graduate of CU, led her 3rd grade Campbellsville Elementary Choir in two songs.
Dr. John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, told the teachers he “commended” them before he introduced Goodman.
Dr. Frank Cheatham, senior vice president for academic affairs, Dr. Chuck Hamilton, associate professor of education and chair of the undergraduate program at CU, and Hedgepath presented the certificates to the teachers before a luncheon in Winters Dining Hall.
Campbellsville University began the Excellence in Teaching Awards Program in 1987 with assistance from Earl Aaron and the Ward, Cundiff and Aaron Memorial Fund. The purpose of the program is to recognize the quality teaching and learning taking place in the school systems throughout Kentucky.
Through the awards program, CU presents certificates to teachers in each grade level [preschool/elementary (P-five), middle grades (six to eight) and high school (nine to 12)] as selected by their school districts.
At this 28th annual program, CU recognized 166 teachers from 58 school districts. A total of 3,014 teachers have been recognized for their teaching excellence throughout the years.
The Excellence in Teaching Awards program is in partnership with Lexington’s CBS-affiliate, WKYT-TV.
The Excellence in Teaching Award recipients include the following with their superintendent listed first:
Butler County School System- Scott Howard, superintendent; Kimberly M. Whittinghill, North Butler Elementary; Rebecca Dawn Flener Mudd, Butler County Middle School; Dennis L. Robbins, Butler County High School.
Whittinghill is a first grade art teacher at North Butler Elementary where she has taught since 2005. She graduated in 1989 from Edmonson County High School.
In 1993 she earned her degree in bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Western Kentucky University. Also from Western she earned her master’s in education in 1996.
She is the wife of Todd Whittinghill and mother of Sean, Luke, and Zack Whittinghill. Her parents are Evelyn and Noel Raymer Jr. of Campbellsville, Ky.
Mudd is a 1982 graduate of Butler County High School who teaches seventh and eighth grade world civilization at Butler County Middle School.
She graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree. Continuing her education at Western she earned her master’s degree in 1989. She also received her National Board Certification in early adolescent social studies/history.
She is the wife of Mark S. Mudd and the mother of Jacob S. Mudd. Her parents are Roger and Barbara Flener of Morgantown, Ky.
Robbins is ninth-twelfth grade social studies teacher at Butler County High School where he has taught since fall of 1998. He taught special education at Butler County High School from 1998-2005. He is a 1992 graduate of Butler County High School.
He is a 1996 graduate of Lindsey Wilson College with his bachelor’s degree. Then in 2006 he earned his master’s from Western Kentucky University.
He is the husband of Jennifer Robbins and the father of Jace Robbins.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.

By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator and Mikayla Smith, student news writer