Benjamin Logan High School teacher Spencer Reames has been selected from the statewide group of 2022 Science Teacher Finalists to receive an Arthur S. Holden Science Teacher Award from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.
He is one of only six Ohio teachers designated for this award. As a result, $1,000 will be awarded to the school district in August to be applied to his classroom.
Reames has taught at Benjamin Logan High Schools for 54 years.
“I have a passion for science and I use that passion to engage and excite students.
Students can accomplish far more than they realize and my job is to get them to push and break down their personal boundaries,” he said.
“My greatest joy is to see students challenge themselves and be successful. My experiences have aided me in challenging students to expand their horizons and in turn they have challenged me to excel and grow professionally.”
The award finalist is currently teaching Environmental Science, Anatomy and Physiology and Advanced Biology. Last semester, he also taught a class of General Biology, Aquatic Ecosystems and a Research class.
“I want to see students engaged and I want them to be successful in school and in life. One of the experiences that I have had is to have marched in a drum and bugle corps for four years and to have instructed another four years.
“Through this experience, I learned to give responsibility to young people and that they are capable handling the responsibility.”
During his career, Reames has participated in NSF Summer Institutes and fellowships that gave him experience with labs and projects that helped him engage students.
“I pride myself on my ability to bring the excitement of cutting edge science to my students to get them personally engaged in the field,” he said.
“For instance, we did a CRISPR‐Cas9 experiment in genetics class. My ability to connect with scientists has created opportunities to place students in research labs.
“As a recipient of a previous MHJF grant award my students collaborated with Dr. Donald Dean, Professor Emeritus in Biochemistry and Entomology at OSU, to identify aquatic insects and to help with barcoding experiments.”
Reames said he has a goal of developing a classroom community where students feel respected and they contribute to the class, even continuing to projects outside the typical classroom.
“The students have ownership in the work taking place since their name is on any work that goes to the community,” he explained.
One examples of this is the recent work performed by the aquatic ecosystems class. The Logan County Solid Waste District has undertaken a three-year demonstration cover crop project, with 200 acres of the project are along the Mad River.
The aquatic ecosystems class has conducted the baseline data on the Mad River and they will continue to monitor the river for changes in biodiversity over the next three years and report this to the Solid Waste District and Soil Conservation District.
Each student wrote part of the report and they have their name on it as an author, Reames noted.