SueAnn Whisker

State biology teacher of the year makes impact on students

SueAnn Whisker of Cabot holds her certificate recognizing her as the 2018 Outstanding Biology Teacher for Arkansas from the National Association of Biology Teachers. Whisker is in her 20th year in education, having started her career in Crowley, Texas.
SueAnn Whisker of Cabot holds her certificate recognizing her as the 2018 Outstanding Biology Teacher for Arkansas from the National Association of Biology Teachers. Whisker is in her 20th year in education, having started her career in Crowley, Texas.

Despite not having an education degree, Cabot High School biology teacher SueAnn Whisker knows she is where she needs to be.

Whisker, 47, was recently named the 2018 Outstanding Biology Teacher for the state of Arkansas by the National Association of Biology Teachers. Whisker, who started her teaching career in 1995 at Crowley Ninth Grade School in Crowley, Texas, was originally going to be a veterinarian, having graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences in 1994.

“After I got married, we were living in Texas,” she said. “My prerequisites were to get me to [Louisiana State University] for vet school.”

While in Texas, Whisker said, she started substitute teaching. That led her to get her alternative certification to become a teacher.

“I thought, ‘This is OK,’” she said, referring to substitute teaching. “I looked into the alternative certification. I went through that in Texas and stepped into the classroom, teaching biology. I found out that is where I needed to be all along. My mom was a teacher. My dad was a teacher to begin his career. It’s not like it’s a foreign thing to me.”

After five years of teaching in Texas, she and her family moved back to Arkansas. While her two sons were young, she waited four years before getting back into teaching. She started teaching in the Cabot School District in 2004.

Whisker said the state of Arkansas honored her teaching certificate from Texas, so she didn’t have to take the Praxis exam to get a teaching license.

Her first year teaching in Cabot, Whisker taught eighth-grade earth science at Cabot Junior High School North. The next year, she moved to the high school, where she taught biology. For the past 10 years, she has taught Advanced Placement biology and Pre-AP biology.

Whisker said she was nominated for the teacher of the year award by a former colleague.

“I received the nomination in the latter part of the spring,” she said. “There were several parts to it. A former colleague had nominated me. Then I had received notification of that. I had to fill out an application, which included a personal essay, a list of accomplishments and other awards, my current teaching and how long I’ve been at it.”

In addition, Whisker had to submit four letters of recommendation, one of which was from a former student, while one was from an administrator at Cabot High School. She also had to submit a video of her teaching. She found out she had received the award in May before the school year was over.

“It was a very nice honor,” Whisker said. “As teachers, we don’t do this for the recognition. It was really nice to be honored for all the work I’ve done. I’ve gotten a lot of attention lately, which I’m a little uncomfortable with. It’s OK. It’s good attention. It highlights what we do in the classroom and also my school district.

“I’m very blessed to work in a school district that really helps and promotes their teachers to be good teachers. They provide us with all the tools and opportunities. That is a blessing as well.”

Cabot High School Assistant Principal Alana Graham, who wrote a letter of recommendation for Whisker after she was nominated for the award, is proud of her for getting the recognition.

“This award given to SueAnn is one that speaks to her abilities in teaching, as well as her insight into preparing her students for their next step in education. It is a great honor that SueAnn received this award and is recognized for her talent as a teacher and her commitment to education.

“Cabot High School is honored to have Mrs. Whisker as part of our dedicated teaching staff and is proud of her accomplishments. We believe this award exemplifies the hard work and dedication CHS strives to be a part of, and Mrs. Whisker is definitely a talent to showcase.”

Graham also said Whisker cares about her students.

“She not only teaches biology content in a manner that is interesting and related to our kids, but she also connects with her kids as well,” Graham said. “It is evident her students know she cares about them. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Whisker is also a teacher leader in our building and assists us with committees and focus groups, as we value her visionary leadership.”

Whisker is also working on her master’s degree in building-level administration at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

“In case I ever want to pursue that route, I’ll have my master’s in that,” she said. Whisker is set to graduate in May 2019.

Whisker is originally from Sherwood. She graduated from Sylvan Hills High School in 1989. While in high school, Whisker said, she became interested in biology after taking a class with teacher Prentice Dupins.

“I had a biology teacher in high school who was just really dynamic and really good at what he did and was very demanding,” Whisker said. “I enjoyed the class. He was really passionate about it. He made it fun and enjoyable. I kind of have a natural draw toward the sciences. It was really more about the teacher. He lit me on fire with it.”

While in Texas, Whisker taught general-education biology. After moving to Cabot High School, she taught the same until going into the higher-level biology classes.

“They need you differently than the regular biology students or general-education students,” Whisker said. “Sometimes [The general education students] need you as a parent. They need you as that personal role model. And you’re trying to teach them some life skills and coping skills, and along with that, you teach them some biology and some fun stuff, and they all learn.”

Whisker said the students who are in her AP and Pre-AP biology classes tend to be more academically focused.

“Not all of them are, but a lot of them,” she said. “They need you differently. They need me to challenge them and to push them. They need me to create lessons that make them think outside of what they are used to doing, to take their learning beyond just memorizing and learning facts. I want them to apply it and look at a situation that they’ve never seen before and figure it out, based on their previous knowledge.”

Whisker said she stays on top of the curriculum to be able to teach her students.

“I study. … I stay on top of stuff,” she said. “I have to do a lot of prep work. These kids run through stuff. I have to stay on my toes and keep my lessons going. We don’t have a lot of downtime in here. I work hard, and they work hard.”

Whisker said she loves her students.

“Aside from the personal attachment, I just love these kids,” she said. “I can come to school in a bad mood, and by the end of first period, I’m in a great mood. The kids have made me laugh. It’s good. I just love the kids. They are funny. They make me laugh every day.

“I’ve got some kids who are so, so smart. They challenge and really help me to keep growing and learning my craft so I can answer their questions and challenge them. I’ve got some smart kids. They are awesome.”

Whisker said she has no regrets on not going to veterinarian school.

“If you talk to people who I grew up with and haven’t seen me since high school, they would assume that I am a vet,” she said. “Life kind of leads you where you need to be. This has been a wonderful career to raise a family with. I’ve got two boys who are now in college. You’re off when your kids are off. You’re in school when they are in school. I’ve known their friends and the system they’ve grown up in. That’s been valuable and helpful.

“I have no doubt that if it was something I really wanted, I could have figured out a way to make it happen. But once I stepped into that classroom and started interacting with these kids, it filled my heart, and this is what I wanted to do. I was hooked.”

With all the awards and honors, Whisker said, what she loves is being able to make a difference in her students’ lives.

“Here at Cabot High School, we have our seniors do life-impact diplomas, and those mean a lot,” she said. “I have kids who will write me notes pretty much every year. I get emails from kids who have gone off to college. They say, ‘Thank you so much for pushing me so hard. My college classes are so easy.’

“I love to hear kids say that they loved me as a teacher, but I really love it when they say, ‘I loved you, Mrs. Whisker, as a teacher, but your class was the hardest one I ever had. I learned more than I thought I ever could.’ That’s the part where I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing with them.”

Whisker also told a story about hearing from a former student she taught in Texas.

“I’ve had kids track me down through social media from Texas,” she said. “About five years ago, I heard from a student that I hadn’t taught in 15 years. He tracked me down, saying that when I said he could do better, it made a difference in his life. He never told me but wanted to tell me that now.

“I just don’t know how you can get that anywhere else.”

Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.

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