Noah Hurlburt

Mr. Hurlburt, my 7th-grade science teacher, was amazing. Every day in class was a new surprise. From throwing Twinkies at the wall to demonstrate the scientific method to walking in to find we were dissecting a chicken, Mr. H was a shining beacon in all of his students' lives. His handy box for notes made it so you could tell him anything you wanted. Every glum morning his positivity brought smiles to scholars' faces. He was there to comfort and help students who were struggling. As the student council advisor, which he made sure was student-led, he added to the fun of the school year by allowing students to plan exciting events. Always wearing a smile, he could ask you one question and make you grin in return. Coming from other classes, kids would be happy, but Noah Hurlbut took it to a new level. He never gave out simple assignments. No, he made learning fun with what he called student-centered learning. Mr. H gave students assignments that focused on transferable skills. If we were not doing something in real life, he made up for it with a PHET lab. Not only were these fun, but they were educational. Three labs later, his students would go into the real world to test their knowledge. One minute you are designing your skate part using Newton’s laws, next you are building battle bristle bots to be run on nine-volt batteries. Those battle bots have a full background story as well as a report on why your bot will beat the other ones. That's where the transferable skills come in. His students go and figure out how the bot will move, and the next thing you know, they understand why your toothbrush moves so smoothly across your teeth. One year with Mr. Hurlburt, and I don’t think I could have had a better teacher.

Everett Lowman