Creativity makes Mount Laurel man a top N.J. teacher

In his Tuesday psychology class, students enthusiastically did sets of jumping jacks between short-term memory tests involving lists of random words.

Scott Sax, a humanities teacher at Cherokee High School, has a way of keeping his students on their toes, connecting them to class material. According to his colleagues, his lessons are always this memorable.

Because of his captivating teaching style and devotion to the many facets of the humanities, the Marlton teacher recently received the New Jersey Council for the Humanities Teacher of the Year award. His colleagues and superiors nominated him, and his students wrote letters of recommendation.

"One of the things I like best about teaching is that you really feel like you're part of a community," said Sax, a 47-year-old Mount Laurel resident.

His strong connection to the high school is obvious. Numerous students smile and say hello when they see Sax walking the halls.

According to Assistant Principal Margaret Martin, the award is intended for a humanities teacher who exhibits creativity and excitement while embracing all aspects of the humanities, including the arts, world cultures, music and English.

"Scott really fit the bill in those areas," Martin said. "You really had to be a well-rounded, creative person in those fields, and he touched almost every one of them."

"When you talk about humanities, for us it covers so many different topics and so much education that [Sax] is the perfect choice," said principal Linda Rohrer. Rohrer said Sax injects his lessons with excitement that resonates with students.

"[The students] come in every day prepared to ask questions that you know they've looked up all night," Rohrer said, "and that's the sign of a wonderful educator."

Outside the classroom, Sax oversees the high school's fall play and is the technical director of the spring musical, which Martin called "his baby."

Sax said he always wanted to be a teacher, but began his career in the mental-health-care field. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Albright College, and worked in both clinical and managerial roles.

At 28, he left the health-care industry and obtained a master's degree in teaching from what was then Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey).

His first teaching job was at Cherokee High School - the same job he has held for the last 18 years.

"I like a class that is spontaneous," Sax said of his seminar-structured classroom. "I like a class where the students have the freedom to ask questions, to try on new ideas, to talk about what they already think, and they also have the freedom to change their minds if they want to," he added.

His compelling teaching methods have made him a favorite with students.

Hunter Presi, a 17-year-old junior at Cherokee, has taken three of Sax's classes.

"He's a great teacher," Presi said. "He's really interactive. He gets his students involved and excited about what they're learning."

Presi added that Sax's classes never get stale.

"Every class is really a new experience. He's always finding new ways to get something across. He's not a traditional textbook teacher," he said.

In Sax's classroom, students ask questions and relate real-life examples from their personal experiences to class material. Tattered, yellowing lecture notes are nowhere to be seen in Sax's class. He said he prefers learning that is discussion- and question-based.

"I think there's a real art to asking questions," he said, describing his appreciation for the Socratic method of teaching. "I think you can accomplish a lot by asking questions."

After the memory tests and jumping jacks, Sax revealed the method to the apparent madness. The students, who were told to associate images or events with the random sets of words, were able to recall them more accurately.

"The most effective memory is when you add meaning," he said to the students as they diligently copied his words into their notebooks.

Apparently, Sax has held many meaningful classes. He said students from as far back as 10 years ago still contact him. Sax, who is married and has three daughters, called this the most rewarding part of his job.

"I guess the thing that made me feel the best was what my supervisor said about me, what my colleagues said about me and most importantly what my students said about me in the recommendations that they wrote for me," Sax said. "It means there's value to what I do every day."

.