Kish 'incredibly surprised' with teaching honor

Norwalk High School band director Will Kish admittedly "was incredibly surprised" by being named a Teacher of the Week."This is tremendous," he said when Principal Brad Cooley surprised him with the honor during a recent rehearsal."I don't know who started this to get me recognized and I thank them," said a smiling Kish during the News Channel 5 segment.Cooley presented the band director with an Omaha Steaks gift card from Ohio Savings Bank and a certificate. After Kish shared his appreciation with his students, they applauded.Kish didn't have any idea the Teacher of the Week award existed."I was incredibly surprised by the recognition and I'm sure it comes across in the video," he said this week. "The taping happened our first day back from break. I had structured the rehearsal to introduce two of our pieces for our winter concert on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Ernsthausen Performing Arts Center — shameless plug," Kish said via email."We were in the middle of an explanation of (the) historical perspective on one of the works when Mr. Cooley, Mr. (Patrick) Kania, a cameraman with a very bright spotlight on his camera, a reporter and our concert band all entered the room. I was momentarily speechless."Kish was asked what makes someone a good teacher in general."Good teachers are hard workers. Taking content and presenting it to students in a meaningful way is a tremendous challenge. Convincing them to take that content and apply it in performance and in both their academic and personal lives is one of the biggest challenges that all teachers face. Extensive preparation provides more opportunities for successful connections and transfer of knowledge," the band director said. As a music teacher/band director, Kish has the opportunity of seeing, interacting with and getting to know his students in ways other teachers don't. He was asked how this helps make his students better people and musicians."The more information you have about a student, the better you can target instructional delivery. Knowing which pathways and prompts work best for each student lessens the time it takes for them to make a connection or discover knowledge. This familiarity makes a teacher more efficient."It also goes a very long way in helping deal with the number of interpersonal variables that impact students' lives on a daily basis. The more we know about them, the more likely we will be able to accurately predict their behavior," said Kish, who isn't aware of anyone else from Norwalk City Schools receiving the student-nominated Teacher of the Week award."My students see the amount of time I spend at the school and how many school events I am involved with. I would imagine it had a lot to do with that," Kish said about being nominated."Hopefully, they see my passion for the subject matter and how much I enjoy getting to help them improve as musicians and as people. They really do make all of the work worth the effort," he added.Norwalk High School Principal Brad Cooley (left) surprises band director Will Kish with being named a Teacher of the Week by News Channel 5.Kish