MATTERS MARIAN - Marian Catholic High School

TEACHER ROCKAITIS EXPERIENCES ‘GOLDEN’ MOMENTSitting in classroom, Ryan Rockaitis switches roles with the students and lets senior, John Bonato ’04lead the class in discussion. Rockaitis was nominated for a 2004 Golden Apple Award.¡Felicidades, Señor Rockaitis!An upbeat enthusiasm from Room 202 atMarian Catholic High School tumbles outthe door.Ryan Rockaitis’ classroom is filled withbright colored posters, signs ofencouragement and upbeat Latin music.As students enter the Spanish class, theirenthusiasm and light chatter are evidenceof the fun educational experience to come.Rockaitis, in his sixth year of teaching[at Marian Catholic] is a Golden Applefinalist. The Golden Apple Foundationrecently announced the names of 32Chicago-area finalists for the 2004 GoldenApple Awards for Excellence in Teaching ingrades 9 through 12.A total of 681 teachers from Cook, Lake andDuPage counties were nominated for theaward, which was first presented in 1986.“Rockaitis is a dynamic teacher full of energyand great ideas to share with students,”according to top administrator Sister MaryPaul. Rockaitis appreciates the sentiment,acknowledging that he is a teacher who triesto get all his students involved throughcreative teaching methods. He was told earlyon that learning occurs when the mind is ina state of joy. A philosophy that Rockaitishas taken to heart.Rockaitis said teaching also has beencompared to acting. “Almost anyone can act,reading word for word from a script, butwho will be interested? It’s filling the scriptwith energy and effort that makes an actor’swork worth watching.”“I put energy and life into my teaching,so they will watch my show,” said Rockaitis,who turns 28 next month and lives in Worth.Rockaitis calls Marian his first officialteaching job, but he has taught summerschool at Loyola Academy, classes inMinnesota and Pennsylvania and some nightcourses. Rockaitis has known since secondgrade that he wanted to be a teacher. It washis freshman year in high school that he knewhe wanted to teach Spanish.Rockaitis still e-mails his second grade teacher,Sister Anne Frances, daily. In high school,Rockaitis planned to take Latin, but opted forSpanish when the Latin class was full.He loved the language.“Buenos dias,” Rockaitis tells his studentswho respond enthusiastically to a 10:10 a.m.class on Tuesday. After they get settled, thestudents offer names of friends and families— in Spanish and English — for whom theywould like to pray. Then the group joins inthe Spanish version of the Hail Mary.After the prayer, Rockaitis tossed a smallbeach ball of the earth out to the students.A handful of students have an opportunityto share their “braggage or baggage,”comments about positives and negatives thatare affecting them at the moment.One student complains about a lot ofhomework in her English class, whileanother student shares her exciting weekendplans. After some thoughtful comments,Rockaitis says its time for a vocabulary quiz.Without groans, the students get out theirpens to get the job done. The rest of theclass is then spent discussing “los verbos concambio radical,” or stem-changing verbs.Rockaitis, who graduated from Marist HighSchool in 1994, received his bachelor ofscience degree in education fromNorthwestern University in 1998.He received his master’s degree in educationfrom California State in Sacramento.Now, Rockaitis is plugging away at anothermaster’s degree in administration atGovernors State University.Rockaitis said it is wonderful to benominated as a Golden Apple finalist.“It’s nice to be recognized,” Rockaitis said.“There are lots of great teachers here whocare about students and give the extra effort.It’s nice for people to see how important it isfor me to teach,” he said. The best part ofthe job, according to Rockaitis, is getting toknow a student as a “full person.”As “dynamite” and “nice” as Rockaitis is,he is also quite demanding of his students,Sister Mary Paul said. The students knowhe’s fair and respect him for it, she said.Sr. Paul said Rockaitis’ efforts extend wellpast the classroom. He participates in schoolretreats, has chaperoned dances, is a memberof the Faculty Council, volunteers with aRotary Club and goes on class trips.According to Sr. Paul, “The three things thatmake a great teacher are: first, a solidgrounding in content; second, a love ofstudents and third, a craft or pedagogy toreview, present, integrate and invite studentsto respond to the information.”Under Department Chair, Nancy Holmes,the Foreign Language Department atMarian has a “nice alignment ofcurriculum, Sr. Paul said. “They are greatat working together.”To narrow the finalists to 10 winners, anobservation team came to Marian to observeRockaitis in the classroom setting, interviewhis peers, his students and even some of theirparents. Each of the 10 Golden Apple Awardwinners will receive a tuition-free fall-termsabbatical at Northwestern University;$2,500; a personal computer from Apple;and induction into the Golden AppleAcademy, which now numbers 180 teachers.Rockaitis said he really appreciates thatthe Golden Apple awards’ focus is onencouraging more people to join theeducation field. Teachers have encouragedhim along the way, including anotherSpanish teacher at Marian. Irene Vara-Pohlman was a mentor during his senioryear at Marist.“Teaching is rewarding,” Rockaitis said.“I’d really like to share that with othersand encourage them to try teaching.”The StarThursday, February 5, 2004By LYNDA WELCH HEMMERLING ’856