Top of the class

Have you been personally greeted by President Barack Obama?

Because it’s not everyday a teacher from Iowa gets flown out to Washington, D.C., to meet with the country’s commander in chief.

However, Brian Reece of Osceola, a Central Academy math teacher and Clarke’s head wrestling coach and assistant football coach, experienced that honor.

“That was a pretty big deal,” said Reece, a 1990 Clarke graduate, while shaking his head with amazement.

Through the National Science Foundation (NSF), Reece received a 2013 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). He was honored with the trip to the nation’s capital earlier this summer.

Highest honor

The awards are the highest honor bestowed by the government on K-12 mathematics and science teachers in the United States. NSF receives recommendations from the states, territories and department of defense of some of their best and most inspiring teachers for the award.

NSF reviews the submissions and forwards recommendations to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). On July 1, President Obama announced this latest group of award recipients.

There were 108 teachers who were honored and received $10,000 from NSF and had the opportunity of an expense-paid trip to the nation’s capital from July 28 to Aug. 1 of this year.

Right in front

While there were many activities professional development sessions planned for Reece, one of the main highlights was meeting President Obama.

The teachers were lined up from shortest to tallest in the group. Reece was placed on the first set of risers, but he noticed there was a space left open for the president in front.

“This is one of the first times being short has paid off in my life,” Reece said while laughing. “… I could’ve reached out and touched him. I didn’t, because I would’ve gotten tackled. But, then he told us, right before he got in the picture, that he was going to shake hands with all of us.”

Reece said it was nice of the president to take the time and greet everybody individually.

Pictures with Reece and the president weren’t available as of press time.

A lot of work

As for what it took to get Reece to Washington, D.C., it was a lengthy process.

After being nominated by the parent of a student in 2013, Reece was required to provide essay answers for a 15-page questionnaire, as well as having letters of recommendation from various sources. He also recorded a 45-minute video from one of his lessons showing his interaction with students and his teaching style.

Reece said he was happy to do the application process, because it was a chance to reflect on himself and his teaching style.

“It’s a very good professional development activity. … I think most teachers, at least most teachers that are worth their salt, go through that reflective process on a yearly basis,” he said.

The application video was done in one take by setting up a camera in the back of Reece’s classroom.

“It was nice because there happened to be a moment in the lesson where there was an audible gasp from the students, from their excitement,” Reece said.

Later, he found out this moment was mentioned often in his feedback from judges’ deliberation.

Final inspiration

As for other inspirational moments in Reece’s trip, he met with a former vice president of Google and the heads of the NSF. He said it was an honor because it appeared they were more amazed to talk to him than he was to them.

Conversing with the other teachers also made Reece reflect on his profession and responding to adversity in the education system.

“The whole concept of mental toughness, from a coaching perspective, that the idea doesn’t mean doubt doesn’t creep into your head. … It’s how you respond to that doubt,” he said.

There was another important quote Reece heard during his trip that he took to heart.

“‘As a teacher, do you view it as a job or do you view it as a career?” Reece said. “Do you go everyday and do your job, or are you looking at it as basically becoming the best teacher (you can be).”