Susan H. Spear
A product of Norwalk High School, Susan Spear completed her undergraduate work at Teachers College of Connecticut, now Central Connecticut State University, where she majored in elementary education, participated in a great number of musical and dance programs and was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, a national teacher honor society. She began teaching kindergarten in Milford during her junior year and married George Spear whom she met in the college choir. Recently, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children Susan and William were welcomed into the Spear family during the first few years of marriage. By then, Sue had retired from teaching. Soon her talents were being exercised in YMCA programs, including travel to Beirut, Lebanon, and as a costume designer for the Long Wharf Theater.
In 1964, the Spears moved to Branford, a stroke of good fortune for education in our community that first became apparent when Sue successfully ran for the RTM on a platform of increased funding for education. For fourteen years she was one of Branford's strongest and most vocal advocates for education in this role, concluding her legislative work with six years of service as Minority Leader. She returned to school to earn a Master's degree in elementary education at Southern Connecticut State University and reentered the classroom as an elementary school teacher in Branford, teaching third, fourth and fifth grades, sometimes in combination as a Whole Language teacher.
Few teachers have influenced Branford elementary school children the way Sue Spear has. Throughout her career she has tapped the creative energies of her students to create classroom experiences in which each child had the opportunity to flourish. Her classroom was always alive with learning activity. Children were involved in a variety of activities, typically centering on a major theme that propelled them to reach conventional curriculum goals while they experienced the joy of learning to use their unique talents and prior individual experiences. Most often, they worked cooperatively, to create and achieve in a manner that made them proud. Sue's classroom usually resembled a museum; with ongoing development of exhibits and an aura of seriousness that usually accompanies reflective learning. There were books everywhere; more than 1000 of her collection augmented the school's supply. Some she borrowed from libraries and many others she purchased specifically for her students' projects. Everyone read and more often than not, they read about different things that satisfied their individual interests that had been peeked by a project or had helped in solving a learning problem. They read; they learned; and, most importantly, they grew to know how to continue to grow as independent students. They gained confidence in themselves and they increased their love of knowledge. In the process, their teacher became the ultimate Whole Language teacher, but to them she was their life-long learning friend.
When a project required a math solution, it became a math lesson. When a project required skills or knowledge from the arts, it became an art lesson. Problems created learning opportunities for her highly engaged children. Sue provided in a very effective manner, sound instruction, as she used her extensive academic knowledge and remarkably broad collective of pedagogical skills to bring focus to essential, common learning. Other learning was subversive, with her students acquiring skills and knowledge without realizing it.
Sue regularly participated in workshops and conferences in every part of the country, returning with ideas and materials for her students and colleagues. She earned Distinguished Service Awards from the International Whole Language Umbrella in 1999 and 2002, for special contributions during her six-year service on the Board of Directors. In addition, Sue served on the Review Board of the National Council of Teachers of English. She has had an article published by the National Reading Association and has been a state, regional and national presenter for the National Council of Teachers of Social Studies. Sue has been recognized for her classroom teaching with RHA awards from the Branford Board of Education. She continually sought ways to improve her teaching, especially in reading, writing and the creative arts. Her students became dynamic in their learning because Sue Spear was dynamic in her learning and teaching. She was the perfect model for promoting active learning and her students' loved her for it.
In recent years, she has re-assumed her leadership role in the political arena as a member of Branford's Board of Education, continuing to be a strong advocate for children. For the past forty-one years, Sue Spear has been a tremendous, positive force for children's learning in Branford. It is for this reason her induction into Branford's Education Hall of Fame is celebrated by our community.
In 1964, the Spears moved to Branford, a stroke of good fortune for education in our community that first became apparent when Sue successfully ran for the RTM on a platform of increased funding for education. For fourteen years she was one of Branford's strongest and most vocal advocates for education in this role, concluding her legislative work with six years of service as Minority Leader. She returned to school to earn a Master's degree in elementary education at Southern Connecticut State University and reentered the classroom as an elementary school teacher in Branford, teaching third, fourth and fifth grades, sometimes in combination as a Whole Language teacher.
Few teachers have influenced Branford elementary school children the way Sue Spear has. Throughout her career she has tapped the creative energies of her students to create classroom experiences in which each child had the opportunity to flourish. Her classroom was always alive with learning activity. Children were involved in a variety of activities, typically centering on a major theme that propelled them to reach conventional curriculum goals while they experienced the joy of learning to use their unique talents and prior individual experiences. Most often, they worked cooperatively, to create and achieve in a manner that made them proud. Sue's classroom usually resembled a museum; with ongoing development of exhibits and an aura of seriousness that usually accompanies reflective learning. There were books everywhere; more than 1000 of her collection augmented the school's supply. Some she borrowed from libraries and many others she purchased specifically for her students' projects. Everyone read and more often than not, they read about different things that satisfied their individual interests that had been peeked by a project or had helped in solving a learning problem. They read; they learned; and, most importantly, they grew to know how to continue to grow as independent students. They gained confidence in themselves and they increased their love of knowledge. In the process, their teacher became the ultimate Whole Language teacher, but to them she was their life-long learning friend.
When a project required a math solution, it became a math lesson. When a project required skills or knowledge from the arts, it became an art lesson. Problems created learning opportunities for her highly engaged children. Sue provided in a very effective manner, sound instruction, as she used her extensive academic knowledge and remarkably broad collective of pedagogical skills to bring focus to essential, common learning. Other learning was subversive, with her students acquiring skills and knowledge without realizing it.
Sue regularly participated in workshops and conferences in every part of the country, returning with ideas and materials for her students and colleagues. She earned Distinguished Service Awards from the International Whole Language Umbrella in 1999 and 2002, for special contributions during her six-year service on the Board of Directors. In addition, Sue served on the Review Board of the National Council of Teachers of English. She has had an article published by the National Reading Association and has been a state, regional and national presenter for the National Council of Teachers of Social Studies. Sue has been recognized for her classroom teaching with RHA awards from the Branford Board of Education. She continually sought ways to improve her teaching, especially in reading, writing and the creative arts. Her students became dynamic in their learning because Sue Spear was dynamic in her learning and teaching. She was the perfect model for promoting active learning and her students' loved her for it.
In recent years, she has re-assumed her leadership role in the political arena as a member of Branford's Board of Education, continuing to be a strong advocate for children. For the past forty-one years, Sue Spear has been a tremendous, positive force for children's learning in Branford. It is for this reason her induction into Branford's Education Hall of Fame is celebrated by our community.