Spotlight on: Talia Baker
November 2024 High School Teacher of the Month
The Student Council decides monthly student and teacher awards with a specific category each month. The category for November 2024 focused on school involvement.
The Senior Student of the Month awards go to two seniors per month who are nominated and voted on by Student Council members in grades 9-11.
The High School Teacher of the Month award goes to one teacher per month who is nominated and voted on by Student Council members in grades 9-12. All Teachers of the Month become eligible to become Teacher of the Year in June.
The November 2024 Senior Students of the Month are Ayla Simpson and Danny Bleaking. The November 2024 High School Teacher of the Month is Talia Baker.
Read a Q&A with Talia Baker below.
Q. What aspects of school life are you most involved in this month (e.g., committees, extracurricular activities, mentoring)?
A. The part of school I am most involved in this month is definitely the sixth, seventh and eighth grade production of “High School Musical Jr.”Helping Mrs. Heuser direct while also running the stage crew with high schoolers has been a lot of work. However, it will all be worth it when we perform on Nov. 15 and 16 [said prior to then]. Auditions for the High School production of “Footloose” will begin right after our Middle School show as well. Another aspect of school that I have been involved in this month is with FFA. We will be preparing for leadership competitions this month and organizing fundraisers. FFA and my landscape design class will also be maintaining our fall decorations outside the school and coming up with designs that will go up in December for the holiday season. November is also the month for college applications, so I have been helping a lot of students with letters of recommendation.
Q. What drives your commitment to being so involved in the school community?
A. There are many things that drive my commitment to being so involved in the school community. First, it makes teaching so fun! Participating in and helping with school events lets me see a different perspective of my students that I might not see in the classroom. This allows me to build more connections with more people which leads us to a greater understanding of each other. Second, being involved in the school community gives me, and hopefully my students, a sense of accountability to our school. If we are all participating in different activities, hopefully we are encouraging others to do the same.
Q. How do you balance your teaching responsibilities with your involvement in other areas?
A. Balancing my teaching responsibilities while being so involved in other areas is sometimes a challenge. However, if there is a way to connect my classes to larger projects happening throughout the school then we can put practical applications to the curriculum. For example, both my AFNR class and landscape design class help create the boutonnieres for homecoming using principles of design and floral design principles. Students learn about key parts of the floral industry while giving recognition to our student athletes and homecoming court.
Q. What has been your most rewarding experience through your involvement this month?
A. For the month of November, my most rewarding experience will probably be the “High School Musical Jr.” production. High schoolers were given new roles this year to help the musical, and I have been impressed with their ability to step up in different aspects of the stage crew.
Q. How do you believe your involvement positively impacts your students and colleagues?
A. I believe that being involved positively impacts my students by showing them that I care about all of the different aspects of school. Seeing students succeed in sports, student leadership, art and music makes me so proud to teach at Herkimer. For my colleagues, I hope that they see someone who is always willing to collaborate and cross bridges between our curriculum to find projects and topics that motivate students.
Q. What advice would you give to other teachers who wish to get more involved in the school community?
A. For teachers who wish to get more involved in the school community I would suggest using your passions to motivate your involvement. Find your way into clubs or projects that are going on around the school that align with your interests.
Q. Who or what has supported you in your efforts to stay engaged with the school outside of your teaching duties?
A. The idea of community is one that I would consider a core value of mine. In college, one of my professors spoke about how all people should go and experience the world, meet people from different places, try new things far from home, but that the goal should always be to return home to give back to the community that gave you the tools to set off and have those experiences. I feel so grateful that I grew up in New York and that I have found a teaching job in New York to give back to students what I feel like my teachers gave me: new passions, encouragement to try new things and the importance of service to others.
Q. What are your future goals for further involvement in the school or broader educational community?
A. Some future goals I have for school involvement include more landscape displays, wreath and flower arrangements for the holidays, further development of the gardens at Harmon Park, growing food on the Tower Garden to donate to local organizations, involvement with the Herkimer Garden Club, the “Footloose” musical production, chaperoning dances and probably a few more projects along the way!