Recipient of Olmsted Awards for Secondary School Teachers Announced
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 8, 2012 – Williams College will award its annual George Olmsted, Jr., Class of 1924 Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching on Saturday, June 2, at Ivy Exercises.
Each year, Williams College seniors nominate high school teachers who played influential roles in their lives and their learning. A committee comprised of faculty, staff, and students chooses winners from among the nominees. Recipients of the award receive $3,000, and an additional $2,500 is given to each recipient’s school. The Olmsted Prize was established in 1976 with an endowment from the estates of George Olmsted Jr. and his wife, Frances.
Patrick R. O’Connor, Southwest High School, Minneapolis, Minn.
Williams senior Alison Pincus’ love of history was ignited in O’Connor’s History of the Americas course. “Mr. O’Connor was the only high school teacher I ever had who truly treated his students like adults,” Pincus said. “By this I do not simply mean that he acknowledged his students as mature, responsible individuals, but also that he created an environment in which the opinions of each student were genuinely valued and nurtured.”
A social studies teacher at Southwest High School since 1992, O’Connor has also taught courses in government, economics, and urban education. He was named Minneapolis Teacher of the Year in 2003-2004. “Mr. O’Connor practiced something I so rarely saw in my high school teachers: restraint,” Pincus said. “He saw the value in letting students share their opinions even before he chose to interject his own, and in doing so promoted an atmosphere of critical thinking that rivals what I see in my Williams courses today.”
Southwest High School Principal Bill Smith said of O’Connor, “Over the years, students have recognized him as one of the major positive influences in their lives. He is highly respected by his peers and students. Patrick is a professional, caring teacher.”
O’Connor said he feels it is an essential part of his job to make students feel welcomed in the classroom. “If students look forward to being in my class and I can interact with each student as an individual, my teaching will be much rewarded,” he said.
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