Erin Wittenburg, Union High School

Position: 9-12 Physical Education, 10 Grade Health Instructor

Years Teaching: 24 1/2 years

Hobbies/Interests: Exercising, Quilting, Gardening, Landscaping, Kayaking, Tennis

What do you enjoy most about teaching? Working with people to help them reach their goals, find their successes and shape potential and character.

What do you find most challenging about teaching? There is not enough time in a day, but that is why we have tomorrows!

Best tip for new teachers: To learn in the moments with your students is greatly rewarding. You don’t have to have all the answers as a new teacher (or an old teacher for that matter), but learn WITH them and you will love the process of education!

Best tip for career teachers: Be the leader and the change that you want to see in others. You are enough and you are counted on not only inside the classroom, but in your buildings and in your districts to lead your climate and faculties to be great places to work and grow in our Cedar Valley.

Favorite piece of advice for students: Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions. This is how we all grow and learn. My greatest reward in the classroom is getting to see how your brain work as a curious learner and there are no such things as dumb questions.

What being a Gold Star Teacher means to you: Being a gold star teacher to me means being selected as one of the best teachers in the Cedar Valley who is counted on to be a quality educator, a community role model, and a driven person in pursuit of best all around practices. It means being recognized as a committed professional who knows how to go above and beyond the call of the raised hand in a classroom by bringing realistic experiences and relevant learning examples that raise curiosity, satisfy fears, and inspire careers. Gold star teachers are counted on to shape positive interactions and even negative circumstances in their districts and in their communities by their words and actions. To have earned a Gold Star Teaching Award means you’ve been consistently in the right direction in your role as an educator recognizable by many others and you are consistently counted on to do so.

Watch Erin Wittenburg’s Gold Star Video here!