His Story
Jerry Parks began teaching in 1978 as a physical education teacher at Russell Cave Elementary School, then taught health education at Tates Creek Middle School in Lexington. After eleven years in the classroom he resigned and spent time in real estate, which taught him, he says, that “teaching is a serving profession, no teacher is indispensable, and rewards in education are not measured on the gold standard.” He returned to teaching and since 1994 has taught seventh grade social studies at Georgetown Middle School, an older school where most students receive free or reduced lunch.
He was once a reluctant college student who was put on academic probation before choosing teaching as a major, and he says that experience helps him understand students who do not enjoy learning. He holds a master’s degree (1973) and an Ed.S. (1974) from Eastern Kentucky University, plus a doctorate, and in 2003 he became the first teacher in his district to earn National Board certification.
His honors include a Kentucky Teacher of the Year state finalist (2000–01), Ashland Oil Golden Apple Awards (1988, 2000), a Fayette County Schools Teacher of the Year award (1989), a national Teacher of the Year award from the Southern Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (1988) and a place on the USA TODAY All-USA Teacher Team (2007, with an honorable mention in 2003).
Beyond the Classroom
Parks has written several books and articles for teachers and parents, including guides to National Board certification and Help! My Child Is Starting Middle School!, as well as a Gilgamesh play for teen readers. He presents at national conferences such as those of the National Middle School Association and the National Council for the Social Studies, and was Kentucky Regional Coordinator for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards from 2005 to 2007.
His classroom is a teaching lab for Georgetown College education students. He has taught at-risk teens and dropouts in the local Youth Employment Program, and with the University of Kentucky and the Georgetown Community Historical Society he led students in an archaeological dig at Elkhorn Creek. He started the Buffalo Helper Scholarship Fund with a share of his book royalties to help worthy Georgetown Middle School graduates pay for college.
Philosophy Into Practice
Parks says “children learn best with LSD,” meaning love, structure and discipline, a line he writes on his chalkboard for parents on open house night. He teaches through “directed search,” with students researching, scripting and performing Greek and Sumerian plays, serving as lawyers and judges in a Hammurabi’s Court, taking part in a Passover unit and writing their own books about ancient cultures. His six strategies for motivating students spell C.R.E.A.T.E.: creativity, relevancy, environment, adaptability, training and enthusiasm.
Each year students complete a “Color of Your Personality” survey so he can teach to their strengths. He keeps “high walls with open doors” between teacher and student: always accessible, never a peer. His school’s state social studies scores rose three years in a row through 2006, and in 2007 social studies was its greatest area of improvement.
“If a lesson isn’t relevant, the lesson isn’t learned. At best, it’s only memorized.”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
“My students’ minds are not buckets into which I pour knowledge, but fires, which I must stoke and keep ablaze with the love for learning.”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
In His Own Words
“Teaching is an art, not a science. . . a sacred trust—never to be taken for granted.”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
“Children learn best with love, structure, and discipline!”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
“Between teacher and student there should exist high walls with open doors.”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
“Students must be managed, not intimidated.”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
“Enthusiasm, like apathy, is contagious.”— Dr. Jerry L. Parks
What Others Said
“Lastly, he would be the last person to seek this honor.”— Sharan A. Gwynn, nominator and colleague, 2001 Kentucky Social Studies Teacher of the Year
“Jerry Parks loves teaching and it shows.”— David R. Andes, Principal, Garth Elementary School
“Jerry knows how to motivate the students to really be better than they thought they could be.”— Vicki Grant, sixth grade math teacher, Georgetown Middle School
“Whatever it takes to get a child to learn is what Jerry Parks will do.”— Tommy Hurt, Principal, Georgetown Middle School
“Dr. Parks’ classroom is not just a learning place, it is a home in many ways for all those who pass through it.”— Sharan A. Gwynn, Georgetown Middle School
“He’s the teacher every kid wants to have, and needs to know.”— Lauren Ishmael, former student