Photo courtesy: Colleen Epler-Ruths
SUNBURY – A Shikellamy High School teacher is expressing gratitude and humility after recently being named as one of 12 finalists for the 2020 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year award. Colleen Epler-Ruths is in her 17th year of teaching physics and computer science for grades nine through 12 at Shikellamy, “The whole process has been grueling, and so it’s just a little overwhelming. I’m definitely humbled by the process that I’ll have to be a spokesman for the area, but I’m looking forward to that opportunity.”
When starting at Shikellamy, Epler-Ruths says she actually took the place of her late chemistry teacher, Barbara Albright, who she says was her inspiration. Epler-Ruths says the key to her success is being an innovator with technology in her subjects. She says she’s also heavily involved with the school in and out of the classroom.
“I do a lot with my students bringing them up to speed using all the different applications that are available on computers. I volunteer on a lot of committees here in the district. I do a lot of field trips, I’ve taken multiple students overseas to let them see the broadness of the world, and then I also bring in my former students that are being successful, and they come in to talk to my classes,” she says.
Epler-Ruths says she has the “best job in the district,” but she says it’s also important for good teachers to connect with students, especially to those not as enthusiastic about learning, “The hardest thing for me to learn is that not everyone is curious and likes learning. And then there are all sorts of things that happen to kids along the way that sort of make them not as interested in being in school. I think being a good teacher is the one who appreciates that there’s kids that see the world differently than they do, and you try to find a way to meet them where they’re at.”
Epler-Ruths, who’s also a 1983 Shikellamy graduate, is in her 20th year overall in teaching. The 2020 PA Teacher of the year will be announced in December in Hershey.
