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<\/a>\u201cIt was a rush (hearing my name announced),\u201d Douglas said. \u201cI felt like I was back playing football and had just scored a touchdown. To be with my colleagues from my district who I so admire \u2013 wow, they\u2019re amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Granger even held a special assembly the following Wednesday in honor of Douglas, with surprise guests Mayor Ron Morrison and Douglas\u2019s family. The mayor actually issued a proclamation designating Sept. 14 \u201cStuart Douglas Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though the Teacher of the Year award comes with a crystal apple trophy and plenty of clout, Douglas is quick to note that he isn\u2019t teaching for a physical reward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t do this job for trophies and awards; I do it for my kids,\u201d Douglas said.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t call his kids \u201cstudents\u201d \u2013 they are scholars<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI tell them a scholar shows up ready to learn. A student just shows up,\u201d Douglas explained.<\/p>\n Every student \u2013 scholar \u2013 gets that designation when they walk into his classroom. Douglas starts from the platform that kids are willing and able to learn. That they really can be anything they want to be. And that fact doesn\u2019t change regardless of where they lay their head at night or what \u201cconcrete forest\u201d they come from.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to believe in them so they can believe in themselves,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cI tell them, \u2018You\u2019re not defined by your zip code; you\u2019re defined by your dreams.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n A surprise start<\/strong><\/p>\n Although Douglas loves his vocation now, he didn\u2019t start out on a teaching path. Douglas attended college for marine biology. He went to Alaska and studied salmon, planning to be a research scientist. Economy and life changes along the way plopped him in the Granger Junior High science department.<\/p>\n And then about 10 years ago, a surprising conversation completely shifted his focus and commitment.<\/p>\n It was during the time when the San Diego Natural History Museum was featuring an exhibit on Charles Darwin, which Douglas said he totally geeked out at. Douglas had gone to the museum and Balboa Park over the weekend with his preschool teacher wife, Cora, and young daughter (they now have two beautiful daughters).<\/p>\n Back at school, Douglas was having the generic \u201cwhat\u2019d you do over the weekend\u201d conversation with his students. When he mentioned Balboa Park, one of the kids said, \u201cWow, your daughter\u2019s so lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas was taken aback \u2013 why? Because, the scholar explained, he had never been to the zoo or a museum.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I asked the whole class, \u2018Who\u2019s never been to the zoo? Who\u2019s never been to the museum?\u2019\u201d Douglas recalled. \u201cHands kept going up.\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas asked about other nature and science locales, and kept getting the same answer.<\/p>\n \u201cFinally I said, \u2018Who\u2019s never made a s\u2019more?\u2019\u201d Douglas said. \u201cOne kid raised his hand and asked, \u2018What\u2019s a s\u2019more?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas had already been reading \u201cLast Child Left in the Woods\u201d by Richard Louv and brewing on the disconnect between many modern children and nature. The s\u2019more comment was the final clincher.<\/p>\n Douglas made a commitment then and there to take his class to the zoo. He ended up taking 60 kids to the Natural History Museum and the San Diego Zoo. And then he thought, \u201cWhat else can I do?\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas now averages eight field trips a year. His scholars have gone on a fishing boat expedition, visited San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and the Beckman Center for Conservation Research. They\u2019ve traveled north to see the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, which even included a viewing of a scientific film on the museum\u2019s IMAX screen.<\/p>\n A summer school group went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. One scholar group went out on a 60-foot research vessel and got to see a pod of 200 dolphins. And it\u2019s not always a trip outside of National City. Granger has a school garden run by science classes and fruit trees planted by them as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always looking for opportunities for my kids,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cThese opportunities, these experiences, they open doors. Doors of imagination and possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n He recalls one time on a modern art museum visit, a scholar was viewing a Degas and looked at him and said, \u201cWhen I\u2019m older, I think I\u2019d like to travel and go to Europe.\u201d This coming from someone who had barely been out of the 10-block radius of their neighborhood before. Douglas has had graduates come back and tell him about a field trip that made a shift in their school career.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s those \u2018a-ha\u2019 moments I try to (foster),\u201d Douglas said.<\/p>\n It has become an annual tradition now that the entire ninth grade spends a day at Balboa Park. They go to the zoo, see some of the museums, and have a big BBQ on the lawn. All of the ninth grade teachers come, and some scholars end up bringing their families, including Granger alumni.<\/p>\n Douglas notes that it takes a lot of extra time and work to contact all these places and set up pricing and logistics. And taking a large group of kids anywhere is no small feat.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be committed,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cIt\u2019s a challenge, but it\u2019s so worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n Starting a conversation<\/strong><\/p>\n Would you like to assist Douglas with his field trips? Do you have a connection you think could be helpful? Stuart says, \u201cLet\u2019s start a conversation.\u201d He encourages anyone interested to email him at stuart.douglas@sweetwaterschools.org.<\/p>\n<\/a>