This article is part of a series by The Vicksburg Post, in partnership with the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, featuring each of the nominees for teacher of the year honors.

 

There is not a career today — or a part of a person’s life — that does not involve interaction with a computer of some way. And it is that kind of basic skillset — among others — that Cynthia Price is providing.

“In this society of technological advancement, many students have access to keyboards in their homes and learn to type ‘their way,’ which often leads to developing habits that are not conducive to learning and are hard to break,” Price said. “Initially, it begins as a challenge for them, but continuous guidance, encouragement, proper pacing and daily practice eventually helps them to overcome any anxieties concerning keyboarding.

“It is my belief that accuracy and proficiency will help [students] to realize that keyboarding is a skill for life.”

Price, a career and technical education teacher at Vicksburg Junior High School, is one of the educators nominated for the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce’s Teacher of the Year awards.

The chamber will select and announce one elementary and one secondary teacher of the year at the chamber luncheon on Feb. 25. The winner of each award will receive $1,000 from Ameristar Casino and the runner-up for each award will receive $500 from Mutual Credit Union.

Price has been in education for 29 years and received her bachelor’s degree in business education from Mississippi Valley State. She later earned a master’s degree in business education from Jackson State.

In her Teacher of the Year application, Price said she teaches because she has “the opportunity to enrich the life of someone else,” a philosophy that lives in her classrooms.

“Improving students’ achievement in my classroom starts with showing students that you care about them and help them build their self-esteem, to improve academically,” Price writes in her application. “Also setting an atmosphere for high expectation for quality work, encourage them to use their critical thinking skills to solve problems; praising them for their improvements and helping them to understand how they can take charge of their own learning.”