Montpelier High School - Record Yearbook (Montpelier, VT)

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A Profile Of Excellence: 20-Year Veteran Miss Silsby By SARA WIDNESS Last Christmas a teenage girl was avoiding calorie rich goodies trying to shed a few pounds. All was going well until she went to her biology class at Montpelier High School There, the teacher. Carolyn Silsby. handed out Chnst mas cookies designed to resemble biological concepts the students were working on Hen was a DNA shaped creation ‘ 7 just had to eat my cookie Miss Silsby went to so much work to make them,” was the re sponse And therein lies a basic ingredient for Miss Si sby's teaching prowess: She works hard — sometimes, she thinks, too hard — for her classes But the result is that she's a personality who stands the test of time in students' memones and who evokes m some students the pursuit of excellence and in others the admission that if they tried, they, too, could pursue excellence They know it s there with her Petite (just over 5 feet tall), blond, bespecta cledMiss Silsby is in her 20th year of teaching at Montpelier High School A native of St Johns bury, she studied education and mathematics at the University of Vermont and after gradua- tion taught math in Newport for Hue years While there she taught a biology class, too It was then she decided that if she were to stay in teaching, she would be more satisfied in biolo- gy So her new interests took her to the Universi ty of Wisconsin where in three years and after what she calls a great experience ” she earned a master's degree in biology She was hired over the pnone. she recalls, to come to Montpelier to teach. Today she teaches biology 2. a course some students take because they think it will be easier than chemistry, although it isn't: advanced placement biology, which can earn students up to five credits in science at their future college, and algebra. Ana teaching, she says, is her first love. '7 love it, she says '7 like teaching too much to leave the classroom It s something I lust enjoy doing. ” She prefers teaching biology to algebra but prepares her algebra lessons as meticulously as if for a laboratory experiment Structuring her lessons carefully, she says, ‘7 have to feel my way througn how they 're going to learn best I design a strategy almost every day that will fit the group You do the best you can That 's the challenge ” She says that “if anyone is going to cooper- ate in class to learn, m there to neip them Chris Shepard, a senior in her advanced placement biology class, says. The way Miss Silsby teaches is more stimulating In the high schcH i environment you do things in a different light, see more things I'm a lot more interested in biology than I thought I would be 1 Its these comments and other rewards that keep her in the classroom, such as when a student s face lights up and he says. Oh, I got it! ”1 guess I just like working with lads seeing them get exdted about learning, providing the learning environment, hoping they enjo , learn- ing anadenve a satisfaction from learning, she says ft's the response you get from this that's exciting. Sometimes you have to work to get the response It’s harder to get excited in lath than in biology. A lot of biology is an uppre i tion of life She applies a good dose of psychology t) her teaching style tor example on a recent day. a biology class pursued in a short hour, the fol- lowing- — A quiz that when finished each student personally handed to her at the front of the room and ihat elicited a personal thank you” from the teacher — A quick review of slides of wiidfiowers studied on an earlier field tnp tnat had even husky, football jersey-clod students scrambling to call out the answers For this, the students had to move in close to the front of the room to see the slides In calling out their answers they sounded more like a cheering squad than a class You did a good job. she praised You haven't seen those since the second day of school ' — A homew wgnment for the weekend involving reading u .undout related to the cur- rent subject Using handouts, she says, is a way to keep up-to-date with information in the field of biology that changes very rapidly. — A Brief discussion of pond water samples the students had collected —A short film that helped synthesize subjects the students were working on and that was a gentle ending to an intense week in the class- room. for teacher and students Variety in presentation, she says, allows her to move from one thing to die next There are little techniques you pick up. like letting them stretch their legs The younger they are. the more important it is to have variety When they move close to the room, then they're working closer together as a group It works. She has established such MHS traditions as Miss Silsby s Fall Flower Field Fro- lic. an annual trek around the tennis courts to find and identify flowers This year her students found as many as 45 different kinds. Her stu- dents also take a Tree Trip Treat to identify trees, and another tnp planned for spnng on National Life grounds last year was called the Spring Season Sprout Search Istudents get to ’ ame their treks) And she has developed an instinct in her students that moves them to perform tasks above and beyond the call of the biology class room. For example, students have, over the years, found, dead a woodchuck, porcupine and other small wild beasts that they have duti fully brought to Miss Silsby who pops them into the freezer until someone volunteers to perform taxidermy operations on them ‘7 like biology.” says Heidi Cttrim. a biology 2 student Just investigating, going out and bolting at things you don't really see It's amaz- ing what's in that waterF Miss Silsby has been known to get down on her hands and knees in front of her students to demonstrate antenor and posterior And even though she has viewed living creatures in water under the microscope thousands of times, here's how she still reacts when a student asks her to look at a specimen What a beautiful rotifer1 All right! That's neat. Look at the wheels going around!” Or. under another microscope. ,I’m not sure, but I think the stuff that looks like that I have a sneaky feehna miqht be bacteria. You know, that guy is working his way into this junk Look at that guy There he goes See him1 Get him! He glides along beautifully Squash him up Good catch1 Have you ever seen para mecia mating? You caught them in the act!” For relaxation Miss Silsby allows herself a night out a week playing the baritone horn in practice with a brass ensemble out of Norwich University. She will be on stage wah her horn this weekend for a Brunch with Bach perfor mance at Vermont College. She sings in the Unitarian Church choir, serves as treasurer for the Vermont Science Teachers Association board, gardens, hikes, plays tennis in the sum- mer and enjoys Audubon Society activities The rest of the time she ts most likely working on lesson plans or preparing a lab experiment for the next day I go at a clip, but 1 have to do it so they, the students, don t feel really pushed. ” she says A lot is done here that never shows But if f weren't dedicated, I would be dissatisfied The above article appeared on September 28. 1982, in The Times Argus. It is reprinted with their permission

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Dedication 1984 Miss Carolyn As we, the graduating class of 1984, leave Montpelier High School, we leave with a feeling of satisfaction in knowing that along the path to greater education we have not only made close friends but shared fond memories. Many of these memories have been made with one person. She has been both a friend and a fan- tastic teacher. She has made students realize the importance of a good educa- tion and reaching for realistic goals in life. Her sense of humor and personality nev- er failed to come through to make learn- ing a little easier. We, the senior class of 1984. now honor her many extra hours of devoted time and effort by dedicating our year- book to Miss Carolyn Silsby.

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Top: Mrs. Edna Cassort Bottom Left: Mr Edmund Skea Center: Mrs. Jaye Lindner Bottom Right: Mr Francis Brooks 14