ELA's Teacher of the Year!

My name is Sam Corlew and I’m a teacher. I am so proud of that because I have the most important job in the world. A wise man once said, “Find what you love doing and you’ll never work another day”. That’s only half true because I work very hard every day. In fact, this is the hardest job I’ve ever had and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love my kids and I love my job. I am a U.S. military veteran, a plumber of ten years, the father of two boys, the husband of an incredible woman for the past nineteen years and a teacher.

Teaching is my second career although it has always been my passion. I decided about four years into my plumbing career that I wanted to be a teacher. So I went to school at night at the University of North Florida while working during the day as a plumber. It only took me six and a half short years to get my four year degree.

My first ten years of teaching were spent in an urban setting where I gained valuable classroom management skills. Over the years I’ve had many successes . . . and failures. The funny thing about successes is that you rarely learn as much from them as you do from your failures. This is why I encourage my students to take chances, to stretch beyond their comfort zone and yes, sometimes fail.

My classroom is activity based because I believe that students learn more by doing. I feel that students that are actively engaged enjoy learning more and therefore learn more. I use a fruit and vegetable garden to engage my students in measurement, data analysis, geometry, social studies and life science.

At my school, I’m known as “The Garden Teacher” because my classes plant a fall and a spring garden, but the seeds I’m really planting won’t be seen for many years.