NOVEMBER 15, 2012 4:44 PM • MICHELLE BREIER
MARTIN REISERT OF OAK VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL SAYS HIS PHILOSOPHY WAS SPURRED
BY ONE OF HIS INSTRUCTORS
4S RANCH — Martin Reisert has a simple but powerful philosophy for teaching: Believe in your students.
“If you teach from the heart and believe in your students, it’s your chance to have an impact beyond your short time here,” Reisert said. “As a teacher, we’re given gifts to make an impact.”
Thank-you notes from students posted around Reisert’s classroom at Oak Valley Middle School in 4S Ranch are a testament to his outlook, like the one that says, “You believe in us even when we don’t.”
Reisert, 37, who teaches social studies and science, was named one of five 2013 California Teachers of the Year. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson noted Reisert’s commitment to instilling confidence in students in his announcement of the honorees last week.
The teachers will travel to Sacramento next month for orientation, and over the next year will serve as ambassadors for public education. Teachers of the Year, finalists and semifinalists will be honored at a gala in February.
Reisert’s approach was at the heart of his Teacher of the Year application, writing that four words — “I believe in you” — are the core of his teaching philosophy. “When children know I believe in them, learning occurs, and they begin to believe in themselves,” he wrote.
Reisert’s thinking stems from his experience with his fourth-grade teacher, Jack Ryan, who helped him through a difficult time in his childhood on Long Island.
“He’s a major source of inspiration,” Reisert said. “He made a personal connection with each of his students. He brought teaching to life (in) the way he taught. He believed in me. He made a connection outside the classroom.
“He was a touchstone at the school. I knew I had someone at the school who truly believed in me, and I wanted to be around him as much as I could.”
As a teacher for 12 years, all in the Poway Unified district, Reisert said, “I’ve tried to carry on what Mr. Ryan provided to me.”
Reisert and his wife, a teacher at nearby Turtleback Elementary, further honored Ryan, who died 13 years ago, by naming their son Jack Ryan. A sibling for Jack is due in June.
