State Baptist honored as Teacher of the Year

Alabama Baptist Pamela Harman recently garnered the 2007–2008 Alabama Teacher of the Year title, and it came with no excuses.

An earth science teacher at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Harman was singled out of the 49,000 teachers in the state because of her enthusiasm and passion for teaching and learning. But the member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, was also chosen for her “most amazing journey” as described by State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton during the award presentation.

She was raised by a single mother after age 12 and worked multiple jobs during high school to help pay the family’s bills. After a junior college scholarship ran out, Harman needed a way to go to college, so she joined the U.S. Marines. She served during the Gulf War and then returned home to finish school.

Morton told The Birmingham News, “She absolutely advocates for every student to do his or her best and she doesn’t take any excuses for why they can’t perform.”

“Pamela is truly a bright light,” said Danny Wood, pastor of Shades Mountain Baptist. “I was thrilled when I learned she had earned this award and was not surprised at all. She exudes the love of Christ through her countenance, positive attitude and uplifting spirit.

“She and (her husband) J.C. are very involved in the ministries of [Shades Mountain Baptist], and it is evident that she lives out her faith in her classroom,” he said.

Harman wrote in a 2005 edition of SETI Institute Explorer, “Educating and exciting the next generation of science researchers is important.

“We bring the nature of science to the classroom, so that students see science as a great, incomplete adventure,” she wrote.

Harman, who will be the “spokesperson and representative of teachers in Alabama for the next year,” is a national board certified teacher with more than nine years high school teaching experience. She is a cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a bachelor of arts in education. She has a master of science in geosciences from Mississippi State University.