Colorado Teacher of the Year - Sean Wybrant
Monday, May 8, 2017
In his application for Teacher of the Year, Sean Wybrant said he didn't choose the teaching profession to win awards and accolades.
"I wanted to make the world a better place," he said. Wybrant, a Career Technical Education teacher at William J. Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, was named the 2017 Teacher of the Year in October 2016 for his passion for teaching and original style.
"If I had a wish for this profession that I love, it would be that students, colleagues, administrators and the community at large would see the students, people and system the way I do with all of its potential," Wybrant wrote. "Many of my colleagues are the most giving, kind, curious, intelligent and funny people I have ever seen. My students are unique and full of possibilities and they are beautiful both in their potential and their reality. Every day I have the chance to be inspired by some of the best people in our society."
Wybrant, who has been teaching at Palmer since 2012, recently joined his fellow teachers of the year from around the country to a visit to the White House, where they serenaded First Lady Melania Trump on her birthday and had a chance to convene and share their experiences and insights into the teaching profession. He will also be able to visit Space Camp as Colorado's Teacher of the Year.
Wybrant in his application said he came from a family that valued reading and from a home where he was encouraged to take risks, explore and to fail and learn from his mistakes. As a youth, he became an avid comic book aficionado, "and I can distinctly remember deciding in the third grade that I was going to be a superhero and save the world," he said.
"If I invest heavily in education and inspire students to go off and have an impact on whatever cause they most care about then I can multiply my impact on the world exponentially," he said. "That is why I became a teacher, to save the world."
Every year the Colorado Teacher of the Year program honors an exceptionally dedicated, knowledgeable and skilled K-12 teacher to represent the entire profession. The teacher automatically is nominated for the National Teacher of the Year Award. The application for the 2018 Colorado Teacher of the Year is available with materials due on Thursday, June 1.
"If you get nominated for this award, you should apply," Wybrant said. "We all get stuck in this idea that whatever we do is normal. But chances are if you get nominated for this award, what you do isn't normal and what you do needs to be shared. It just might change your life and you can help change the profession."
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