By Rita Lord
Northside News
Brian Counselman, a teacher and project-based learning coordinator at Shabazz High School, was recently named a Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. A surprise assembly was held April 30 at Shabazz, where State Superintendent Jill Underly presented the award.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website, since 1956 only four other teachers from the Madison School District have received this award.
Counselman has been teaching for almost 20 years and has been at Shabazz for seven years. He earned a teaching degree from UW-Madison, a master’s degree from UW-La Crosse, and an English as a Second Language license from Edgewood College. He is married to Laura, also a teacher at Shabazz, and they have two daughters, ages 8 and 11.
While at UW-La Crosse, Counselman learned the concept of project-based learning, which helps students learn by engaging in real and meaningful projects. He explained that he meets with Shabazz teachers from all departments to discuss ideas for project-based learning, and then tries to implement the ideas. “There are countless people who are helping these students through the day, and I want to highlight the good things they are doing,” he said.
Shabazz students have taken more than 300 field trips, engaging with community members, organizations and businesses. The trips extend students’ learning to people and places outside the school building, and have included Madison College, UW-Madison, The River Food Pantry, Dane County Parks Division, Madison Public Libraries, Northside elementary schools, and many outdoor activities.
One project, for example, involved Shabazz students meeting with elementary students, writing a book that featured the child as the main character, and then gifting the book to that child. Other projects involved working with Dane County Parks on water and land restoration. “If students take out their phones and take pictures, I know the trip is a hit,” he said.
“So often in school we spend so much time saying, ‘Here’s the next step’ or ‘When you grow up’ or ‘When you have this career it will all make sense.’ If we can get rid of the ‘what ifs’ or the ‘some days,’ let’s do that. Those are the things that light students up — it’s the hook of life. I think we sometimes forget that school is life; it’s not this thing of preparing you for life.”
“I do love what I do,” Counselman said. “[I’m] still a little sheepish about [the award], as teaching is far from an individual sport. I’m not naive enough to think I’m anything special, but I do think we’re continuing to build some good stuff at Shabazz and MMSD. The real secret sauce is collaborating with other teachers and community partners to create something authentic and impacting. Hopefully, it can be a platform to keep pushing some innovation in education.”
