Aaron Geiman has a gleam in his eye that gets brighter as he talks about education.
Whether he's talking about his students at North Carroll High School, school policies, parents, agriculture science or the future of education, Geiman is passionate. All aspects of his vocation intrigue him, and he does his best to do his best for his students.
"He is probably one of the brightest, most
innovative teachers," said Richard Weaver, the career connections teacher at North Carroll, and the person who nominated Geiman for Teacher of the Year in Carroll County.
He won that honor early in April and is now a finalist for the Maryland Teacher of the Year award. The winner will be announced in October.
"He's always looking at things differently," Weaver said. "Aaron has a little different thought pattern and focus than other people. He always has. It makes him a unique person."
Born and raised in Carroll County, Geiman graduated from North Carroll in 1993 — in fact, Weaver was one of his teachers.
Geiman received his bachelor's degree in animal science and agricultural education at Oklahoma State University in 1997, and his master's in career and technical education at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, in 2009.
He began teaching at his alma mater in 1998 and, after 13 years, has no plans to leave.
"It was little bit (odd) at first," Geiman, 36, said of teaching at the school from which he had graduated and where he had Weaver as a teacher. "It was nervousness. It's not a problem any more."
Global issues
Geiman's classroom, on the lower level at North Carroll, is reached from an outside entrance. It's there, in a high-ceiling room with walls filled with information about crops and animals — and a sign that says simply, "Manure Happens" — that Geiman teaches agriculture science.
It's an elective topic that he believes is critical to the lives of his students, now and in the future.
"A typical farmer feeds 150 people," Geiman notes. Yet, "only 2 percent of the U.S. population are farmers."
In one class, he challenges his students to consider ideas to help end world hunger.
Although there's technically enough food available now to feed the world, as the population steadily grows there won't be, he tells students. It's their job, he suggests, to find answers for the next generation, and to face pests such as stink bugs and the predatory snakehead fish species.
In the class, students tackle projects that bring agriculture into focus as a worldwide concern.
"It's about the process, not the product," Geiman said of his students' projects. "Analyzing the problem, the thinking process. It is not about the right answer. I want to empower them to become life-long learners."
Geiman, who serves as the adviser for North Carroll's chapter of Future Farmers of America, says he also wants to help students find their "vision," whether it's in agriculture or another field.
"Fewer and fewer graduates have that clear vision," Geiman said. "They take only what they need to graduate.
"The world is uncertain," he says, noting that some fields, such as manufacturing, are no longer "fallback" options for graduates.
Fertile minds
Geiman says he sees a role in taking students out of their comfort level, and challenging them to see where they fit in a changing world.
"Parents have done a great job of caring for their kids," he says. "There is a great deal of comfort they have, that a generation ago didn't. As a result, there is no pressure for them."
High school students are also developing their own personal identity, Geiman said, adding that teachers need to foster that and help them develop a positive identity.
That relationship with students was part of the equation in Geiman's being named county Teacher of the Year.
"He has got a lot of enthusiasm for (teaching), and his enthusiasm came out in his interview," said Carey Gaddis, supervisor of community and media relations for Carroll County Public Schools.
For the county award, more than 200 nominations were reviewed by a panel created by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce before eight were selected to be submitted to the Board of Education. From those eight, Geiman was selected.
"They were judged on their professional biography, their philosophy of teaching, their letters of support and recommendation, and their interview," Gaddis said.
Geiman's resume didn't hurt: He has led several curriculum teams writing and revising the county's Agricultural Education and Technology Education guides.
He's also led workshops on ag education and related topics at countywide professional development events. And, as a seven-year member of the Maryland Agriculture Teachers Association executive board, he's been involved in statewide efforts to improve agriculture in Maryland.
Geiman is also the nation's first master teacher for the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education, a program of the National Council for Agricultural Education.
Statewide attention
