Saint Charles Teacher Tabbed Tops in Region
Trudy White Will Receive Honor at National Convention
Cris Carter, Sister Catheren Powers, CND and Trudy White.  

OKLAHOMA CITY — Trudy White is an eighth-grade teacher at Saint Charles Borromeo School. She is described as a teacher who has "a talent for bringing out the best in her students." She's also now described as National Catholic Education Assoc-iation Teacher of the Year for Region 10, an area that includes Catholic schools throughout Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Arkansas.

White will receive the award at the annual National Catholic Educ-ation Association Convention to be held in Philadelphia later this month, said Sister Catherine Powers, superintendent of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. She will be one of 12 teachers from across the nation recognized at the convention. Saint Charles Principal Joe Sine said Mrs. White has been teaching at Saint Charles for close to 15 years.

White teaches Religion and Language Arts and works countless hours after school on student theatrical productions. She's also very involved in preparing students to participate in the National History competition.  

White believes teaching "is a vocation, a response to Christ's call to go into the world and teach." When asked to describe her philosophy of education, Mrs. White wrote: To follow Christ the Master Teacher is to be grounded in love. Real love is not sentimentality or indulgence but is strong, consistent and empowering. Students, especially young adolescents, perceive respectful treatment and high standards as love, and when these are present in a classroom, students are empowered to listen, learn and behave.

"The goal of classroom management is always to lead students towards self-discipline just as the goal of academic instruction is to empower students to become lifetime learners. To truly be lifetime learners, students must have a familiarity with the arts as well as traditional academics.

"As an eighth grade teacher, I am especially mindful that I am only part of a greater whole: I build on the work of others and, hopefully, others can build on mine."