Teacher of Year brings history into the present

David Veeder, a Methodist who has taught social studies at Christ the King School in Westmere for 17 years, was completely surprised to hear his name announced this spring as the New York State History Day Teacher of the Year.

"I was listening for awards that my students may have won, and then I heard my name," he said. "I didn't even know I had been nominated."

The New York State History Day Celebration is held every spring in Cooperstown. He was nominated, without his knowledge, by the school's principal, Judith Smith.

"A couple of the parents had come up to me and said how the organization was accepting nominations for Teacher of the Year," she said. "They felt David should be honored, so I wrote up a nomination and sent it in."

Humility

After the competition had taken place, and the students and Mr. Veeder had returned to the school, Mrs. Smith asked him how the day had gone.

"He talked about what a good day it was," she said, "and how the kids had done in the competition. Then, as an afterthought, he said, 'And I got Teacher of the Year.' It was like he was sort of embarrassed about it."

"He has a real passion for history," she said. "He makes the past come alive for the fifth through eighth graders. He challenges his students to reenact historical events, and he's taken them on many field trips to national and local historical sites. His classes are never boring, and we've had many high school students who come back and tell him how well he prepared them for the upper grades."

Loving the past

Mr. Veeder's love of history began when he was a child.

"We used to travel a lot as a family when I was a kid," he explained. "We'd go to old homes and battlefields. When I got to high school at Colonie Central, it was my favorite subject."

He tries to teach differently from how he was taught.

"I always liked my history teachers, and I always loved the subject," he said, "but most of my history teachers just gave notes. They never brought the past alive, which is what I try to do."

Finding a career

After getting his bachelor's degree in history from the University at Albany, Mr. Veeder worked as a curator and was the director of the Albany County Historical Association.

"I loved the history, but I found that work sort of boring," he said. "What I loved were the educational programs when I'd visit schools and talk about historical artifacts. So I decided to give teaching a try, and I've never regretted it."

He realizes that he could make considerably more money teaching at a public school, but he's decided to stay at a place where he's comfortable.

"After a few years here, I just sort felt like I belonged," he said. "There are some great kids I work with, and there are some families who keep coming back with more kids. It feels like a family at this school. I figure that this is where God wants me to be."

Ecumenism

Although he is a Methodist, Mr. Veeder has always felt a part of the community of Christ the King School.

"Two of my sons have gone through here," he said. "Everyone has always been good to me and my family. I work in the office during the summer. This job allows me to give back to the students something that I love, and that's a passion for the importance of history.

"I think a good understanding of social studies will prepare you for how to live your own life. New York State is concerned with having students pass their testing, but I want my students to come away with a deeper understanding about who these historical figures were and why they acted the way they did. That understanding will bring about a deeper understanding of who we ourselves are."

Experiments

To help achieve that understanding, Mr. Veeder changes his lesson plans each year.

"I'm always trying new things every year and new angles of teaching similar things," he noted. "I want my students to not see George Washington as a stiff nerd with false teeth whose picture is on the one-dollar bill. I want them to see him as an interesting human being who was faced with many challenges like all of us."

Field trips, he added, are essential to bringing history alive. "I found out a long time ago people learn in two ways: by reading or by seeing," he said. "Field trips are ways I can teach those kids who need to see the objects and places."

He loves teaching middle-school students. "They're very much alive," he said. "They're never dull, and I love to see them get excited about historical things."

(6/12/03) [[In-content Ad]]