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WILKES-BARRE — Kevin Sickle may have won Wilkes University’s Educator of the Year Award, but in accepting it Wednesday night at the school’s Henry Student Center he conceded no amount of enthusiasm for the job is enough to block occasional doubts.
“Some times 180 days seems a lot longer than 180 days,” he said of the length of a school year. “But it’s knowing you need to get up and help those students get to where they need to be” that pulls you through a slump.
“You need to touch their hearts, touch their souls and touch the strength within them,” he added.
The annual award is limited to Wilkes graduates with at least 10 years experience teaching and a litany of lofty-sounding but hard to measure qualities, from inspiring students to using the latest methods effectively in class.
But Sickle, a 2003 Wilkes grad with 12 years teaching in Wilkes-Barre Area School District, conceded he needs some reigning in himself. He praised his parents and his wife for fulfilling that role.
“In trying times, my parents give me all the support I need,” he said. “They may not give me all the support I want, but I’m grateful for that.
“My wife will give me the business when I need the business,” he added, “which is often.”
The fifth-grade math, science and social studies teacher at Heights-Murray Elementary School is also an officer in the district’s teacher union, and directs the school’s annual spelling bee and science fair. Outside of school, he serves as commissioner for the Backyard Wiffle Ball League.
Sickle remained self-effacing from opening to closing remarks, finishing his acceptance speech by admitting “This whole night is an awesome thing, this award is cool. I’m not sure I earned it.”
But, he added, learning he was going to get it made doing his job well that much more important. “I think it drove me to be an even better teacher.”
Wilkes also recognized two doctor of education program graduates with the Diane Place Doctoral Dissertation Award: Jillian Mullen, executive director of the Schuylkill Community Education Council in Mahanoy City, and Dawn Sutton, a math and special education teacher for high school students. Both got their doctorate from Wilkes in May.