Nathan Holcomb, winner of a 2012 Kansas Horizon Award for exemplary first year teachers, is innovative and by his own admission, a little zany.
“My classroom is very loud and there’s never any downtime,” he said. “I’m a little bit crazy. That’s probably why I relate to my students so well.”
Holcomb, a Derby resident, teaches music at Belle Plaine Elementary School.
“I make the best out of the students’ energy and want music to be meaningful and fun for them,” he said. “I incorporate new games, and as much body movement and dance as possible. I refuse to lecture.”
Holcomb and his five siblings were home schooled by their mother, and he said she made all five of them into who they are.
“I learned everything from my mom,” he said. “She was very creative. There was no money to buy things, so she developed her own materials. I learned academics, creativity and morals from her.”
Holcomb said his father helped with homework and practice.
“Music was required,” Holcomb said. “Both my parents are very musical, and I grew to like it (music)more and more through high school.”
Holcomb had also considered a career in culinary arts, but a college music scholarship helped steer him toward a career in music, which he now loves.
The Kansas Horizon Award identifies and recognizes exemplary first-year teachers who perform in a way that distinguishes them as outstanding. Each year only 32 teachers are honored.
Hocolmb’s advice to a first-year teacher is, “Remember that the job is not about you. It’s about the students. Involve them. They are your future.”