Fink named Tennessee History Teacher of the Year

by Juanita I.C. Traughber, communications director

Along with the award, Fifth Grade Teacher Connie Fink has earned a $1,000 honorarium, a trip to a teaching seminar, and new history books for USN’s Hassenfeld Library. In August, Fink was named a top 10 finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced this fall.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has named Fifth Grade Social Studies Teacher Connie Fink the 2018 Tennessee History Teacher of the Year. She will be honored at the Tennessee Council for History Education summit on Sept. 26, 2018.

In addition to a $1,000 honorarium and an award ceremony, the organization dedicated to K-12 American history education will present the Hassenfeld Library with a core archive of American history books and Gilder Lehrman educational materials. Fink will also receive an invitation to a 2019 Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar, a weeklong program that offers teachers daily discussions with eminent historians, visits to historic sites, and hands-on work with primary sources.

As part of her application, Fink submitted her lesson plan on Indian boarding schools and the "Nashville for All" learning experience, which led to students painting a community mural in the 21st Avenue garage.

“I believe that in order to create a rich learning environment each student's academic, social and emotional needs must be addressed. In order to accomplish this, I realize I must also be a learner; methodically seeking out ways to obtain the knowledge and tools necessary to meet the needs of my students,” Fink wrote in her personal statement. “The ultimate learning community is where we all, teacher and students alike, learn from each other. I am a firm believer that the facilitator of the room should not be the “holder” of all of the knowledge. What motivates me the most in my pursuit to excel as an educator is the energy in the room when my students are actively learning American history.”

Fink joined USN in 2009 and is known for bringing innovative and integrative projects to the classroom and connecting her students with local historians and newsmakers as well as the Tennessee State Library and Archives. In 2017, the Humanities Tennessee Board of Directors unanimously voted to present Middle School Teacher Connie Fink with an Outstanding Educator Award.

Inaugurated in 2004, the History Teacher of the Year Award highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers from elementary school through high school from each state, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories. In August, Fink was named a top 10 finalist for the National History Teacher of the Year Award, which will be announced this fall.

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