POMPANO BEACH, Fla. ā Every year, Local 10ā²s Tribute to Teachers campaign recognizes the best educators in South Florida, with only five honorees selected from hundreds of nominations.
Dr. Philip Schulte has a Ph.D. in marine science, but this husband and father of five, chooses to grow little minds at Pompano Beach Elementary School.
The master wordsmith and veteran Head Start teacher introduces his pupils to multi syllable words using show and tell.
āCumbersome.ā Say it with me . . . not heavy.ā Words like ācaveatā and āepiphanyā are being explained to the four and five your olds who are watching him wide-eyed.
With Tribute to Teachers, Local 10 had a big ā or as Dr. Schulte would say ā a gargantuan surprise for him; watching him teach was a lesson for us, too.
He held their attention with props, a plant with a drooping leaf.
āWe donāt say dead leaf,ā he asked. He helped them as they figured out the words that it was actually ādehydratedā and starting to ādecompose.ā Big words for little ones.
He even explained words in Latin.
āWhen I make a mistake, I say what? āMea culpa.ā Itās a way of saying āMy bad.ā "
Shazette Small, principal of Pompano Beach Elementary says his āout of the boxā approach and how much he cares for his students makes him so deserving of being selected in our Tribute to Teachers.
āHe goes above and beyond when it comes to educating our students,ā said Small. āIt doesnāt matter where they come from, what they look like, he understands that everybody deserves an opportunity to learn.ā
For the 30-year-veteran teacher, he says the children have taught him much, too.
āA lot of parents and a lot of adults donāt give children the credit they deserve. They can do a lot more than you think they can,ā said Schulte.
Publix Super Marketsā Media Relations Manager Robyn Hankerson was with us to present Schulte with a gift.
āBecause of the gargantuan impact Mr. Schulte is making, Publix is excited to give a little abundance to him. And that $1,000 gift card weāre granting him with, weāre hoping he can do phenomenal things for himself and for his classroom.ā
To see the stories of all the winners, click here.
All of the winning teachers will be introduced each day this week during Local 10ā²s 5:30 p.m. newscast.