In high school, Nicole Silva was named \u201cclass optimist.\u201d Two decades later \u2013 as a third-grade teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary in Carteret, New Jersey \u2013 Silva\u2019s enthusiasm hasn\u2019t dimmed at all. \u201cToday, I still have to catch my breath some mornings when I walk into the room and remember I get to do this,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
But Silva\u2019s classroom really belongs to her students. \u201cI feel strongly about children taking charge of what they\u2019re learning and sharing it with their peers,\u201d she explains. They explore the solar system with Google Expeditions, construct Olympics games out of recycled materials, find the fun in fractions by way of a mini basketball hoop, and more \u2013 and the sky really is the limit. \u201cI have one student who wants to learn Russian and precalc, so I\u2019m letting him work on that in class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her teaching style is holistic, incorporating mindfulness and a respect for varied learning styles. Students who act out aren\u2019t shamed or punished, either. Instead, they\u2019re encouraged to use the \u201ccool-down bookbag,\u201d a kit to help children self-regulate and develop coping skills. \u201cI tell them, \u2018You can take this bag and go wherever you want in the classroom to cool down.\u2019 We have to be mindful of what kids might be carrying with them from their home life when they walk in the door.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While Silva had her eyes on a teaching career as early as second grade, studying at Montclair State drove it home. \u201cI had a young professor who talked a lot about elementary education, which really ignited the fire for me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI loved the classes that were hands-on, too, where I could visualize exactly what I\u2019d be doing in my classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n In December, Silva\u2019s passion was recognized with a 2018 Milken Educator Award, commonly referred to as the \u201cOscars of Teaching.\u201d In true Academy Awards style, she had no idea it was coming. \u201cI thought the Commissioner of Education was giving an assembly about college and career readiness. When he started talking about a special guest, a teacher who was being awarded, my colleagues and my students started saying, \u2018I think it might be you!\u2019 I couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Silva is the only Milken winner from New Jersey this year. \u201cWinning that award is an indescribable feeling,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s become a driving force to push me to do things that I was previously unsure about. I have a lot of ideas, and now I feel like people really want to hear what I have to say.\u201d<\/p>\n The Milken motto is \u201cthe future belongs to the educated.\u201d Silva couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n \u201cMy parents always told me I could be a Rockette or a movie star or anything I wanted. I know my students might not have someone at home telling them those things, and I want to be that person for them,\u201d she says. \u201cI believe they can do anything. They\u2019re the leaders of their own destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n