South Bend Teacher of the Year inspires, energizes students
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The classroom is a busy scene of 25 chattering, eager, constantly in motion fourth-graders, and Ben Domonkos is utterly at home in their midst.
The group moves fluidly from a journaling activity to science research to silent reading. A miniature sports-style scoreboard in the classroom corner shows how much time they have left to finish the lesson at hand.
"I'm going to release you to write in a moment," Domonkos tells the lively youngsters.
Among his students, he generally is addressed as "Mr. D."
Domonkos, a fourth-grade teacher at Tarkington Traditional School, recently was named 2018 Teacher of the Year by the South Bend Community School Corp.
In recognition of his achievement, he received a $1,000 professional development growth grant, a plaque and a golden apple. He'll also be in the running for Indiana Teacher of the Year.
"He's an amazing educator and we are so fortunate to have him," Tarkington Principal Tania Grimes said.
Domonkos inspires other faculty members, regularly encouraging them to apply for educational grants for their classrooms or the school, she said.
Domonkos, 30, has been a teacher for six years.
In his classroom, Domonkos keeps a small framed photo of himself and his classmates in 1996-1997 as third-graders at Our Lady of Hungary Catholic School in South Bend.
Born and raised in South Bend, he attended Our Lady of Hungary in grades K-8, then Marian High School. He earned his teaching degree at Indiana University South Bend.
Domonkos taught for one year at Our Lady of Hungary, and has been teaching for five years at Tarkington.
He was inspired to become a teacher in part by his mother, Denise Domonkos, a teacher at Monroe Primary Center who has worked for SBCSC for more than 30 years.
Like his students, Domonkos appears to have a bottomless well of energy.
He and his wife, Sarah, have three children, ages 4, 2 and 1.
Besides full-time teaching, Domonkos works 10 to 25 hours per week at a home improvement store and is studying for a master's degree at IU South Bend. He was head football coach for 11 years for the team at St. Matthew's School in South Bend.
Domonkos said he originally planned to study journalism and broadcasting, and become a sports reporter.
"When I got into coaching, I realized I really liked being with the kids," he said.
He enjoys teaching at the grades three, four and five level. "They laugh at my jokes. They come hungry (to learn)," he said.
In his lessons, he deftly mixes new technology with old-school pencils on notebook paper.
Recently, he used Flipgrid - a web-based service that offers a way for teachers and students to create online discussions - to show a video about an aquarium in Niagara, NY.
For this lesson on sea life, the students spent time researching information about their favorite sea animals and writing down the pertinent facts on paper. Then, using the classroom Chromebooks, they each recorded a brief video report about what they learned and posted it to FlipGrid.
He turns to technology when it benefits the learning experience. "We see it as a tool, not a toy," he said.
Domonkos regularly writes and submits grant applications for new classroom tools or equipment.
He successfully applied for a $20,000 grant that provided Chromebook mini-laptops and training for his classroom and another. Another successful grant request allowed him to trade out traditional desks for a variety of tables with whiteboard surfaces.
His students usually get to choose where they want to work: sitting at a table with peers, perhaps writing on the table surface with an erasable marker; standing up while doing research via a Chromebook; or cross-legged on a floor reading a book.
The tables resulted in more collaboration among students, something that will be expected of them in their future careers, Domonkos said.
He weaves lessons on manners and civility effortlessly into his classroom routine.
"Be respectful of those who are sharing," he tells the class when a few students chatter during a lesson. "Make a good choice, please," he tells a student who seems ready to slip away from the assignment at hand.
"There's no endpoint. We're always getting better," he says.
Domonkos said he was honored to be selected as Teacher of the Year, but it's all part of the effort that focuses on the students.
"I love what I do," he says. "It's not work. I'm enjoying it."
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Source: South Bend Tribune
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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com