USA Grad Student Named Alabama History Teacher of Year

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Posted on July 28, 2020

Lance Crawford

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University of South Alabama graduate student, Marcee Hinds has been named the 2020 Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History Teacher of the Year for Alabama. The Gilder Lehrman Institute is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education. Hinds teaches at Baker High School and was selected by a panel of teachers, administrators, and scholars from Alabama for her achievements in American history education.

“I was in the doctor’s office when I received an email on my phone from the Gilder Lehrman Institute letting me know I had won,” Hinds said. “I got pretty emotional right there in the office.”

Hinds wins a $1,000 honorarium and Baker High School receives a core archive of American history books and Gilder Lehrman educational materials.

Entering her 10th year teaching, Hinds received her undergraduate degree in secondary education at South and is now pursuing her master’s degree of education with an emphasis in constitutional studies on a James Madison Memorial fellowship.

“I've known Marcee for many years, she has always been an engaged and thoughtful student and instills those qualities in her students,” said Dr. Marsha Hamilton, associate professor in the department of history at South. “She certainly deserves this honor and I’m very happy and proud of her.”

Hinds’ love of history began at a young age, when she was 5 years old, her mother and grandmother took her to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia and that experience ignited a passion that still burns today.

“Seeing people walking around in colonial attire just seemed magical to me,” she said.

When it comes to teaching history, Hinds philosophy is, you do not know where you are if you don’t know where you’ve been.

“When a student enters my classroom, I want them to have a passion for history. I want them to find their spot in history, where they came from,” Hinds explained.

Hinds is now a nominee for the National History Teacher of the Year which will be announced later this year.

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