OCR Text |
Show Awarded Utah's 'Golden Apple' She's Still Teaching Daily In Her Seventies BOULDER Ever enthusiastic enthusi-astic Helen Lyman, now in her seventies, is off and running with another year of full-time volunteer teaching at Boulder Elementary. The tiny bundle of energy and dedication without peer is back in the classroom on a daily basis to help students at the little rural school. She focuses successfully on helping her students to excel in reading, writing, spelling, penmanship and math. "Creating in students a love of learning is never difficult when they experience success in reading," says Lyman. Lyman was the recipient in May of the coveted Golden Apple Award, one of six presented by Utah's First Lady Jacqueline Leavitt in special ceremonies at the University of Utah Eccles Broadcasting Center. The Golden Apples were awarded to six educators and two volunteers; Lyman was the only southern Utahn to be honored. The awards were also sponsored spon-sored by KUED TV, the Utah Educvation Association and the Utah Parent-Teacher Association. In selecting winners, sponsors looked for those who had contributed contri-buted most to Utah's educational system. Lyman was videotaped teaching her students at the unique small school for the special broadcast. Her acceptance accep-tance speech was also taped. "I planned to retire so that I would have more time to volunteer at the library, write and pursue my hobbies," she has said, "but I just can't bear to quit." The library in Boulder is another pet project for Lyman who was instrumental in getting the town's first library underway last year. Helen Lyman Lyman was also awarded the coveted Huntsman Award for Excellence in Education in April of 1996 which carried a $10,000 check and a crystal trophy. Her principal focus of attention at-tention has always been upon achieving success in reading for her students. She has long been an advocate of pure phonics and Romalda Spaulding's "Writing Road to Reading" program. Since her retirement from Mesa, Ariz, schools, she has sought to spread an understanding of the importance of pure phonics in teaching reading. After moving to Boulder, she began incorporating the program's principles first by tutoring youngsters young-sters around her kitchen table and organizing a class for parents to enable them to teach their own children. Her much-needed skills soon spread to the classroom where she has since remained as a committed volunteer. |