Mahrer, now a ninth-grade and senior English teacher at Wahpeton High School, was recently recognized for her dedication to the profession by the North Dakota Council of Teachers of English (NDCTE) – an organization she’s been a part of for nearly her entire teaching career. The NDCTE named Mahrer the 2009 Outstanding English Teacher.
“I was very honored to receive the award from my peers, from people I admire and respect,” said Mahrer, who has been with the Wahpeton School District for 10 years.
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“She always challenges her students to meet their highest potential,” Woods said, adding that it’s Mahrer's willingness to continue learning that makes her stand out from other instructors. Woods is also the teacher who nominated Mahrer for the award.
In Mahrer’s opinion, getting students to dig deeper into the literature not only requires asking the tough questions, but also getting her students to ask the hard questions themselves.
“That’s when the real learning takes place,” she said.
Mahrer’s sibling Aaron Knodel, a West Fargo High School educator, is quite familiar with Mahrer’s methods of teaching, which have inspired his own endeavors as an English teacher. In a recommendation letter to the NDCTE, Knodel described Mahrer’s use of mystery jelly beans to highlight the short story. “The Lottery.” Students participate by selecting jelly beans, he said, not knowing that the bean may be “skunk-flavored” or “vomit-flavored.”
“The activity not only excites the students, but it helps to introduce the randomness or chance that drives the randomness of the short story,” Knodel wrote.
In her Advanced Placement (AP) English course for seniors, Mahrer organizes “fish bowl” discussions, which often illuminate what her students really feel about what they’re reading.
Mahrer said a small group of students form a circle and begin asking open-ended questions about the current literature being studied. They receive points for asking the questions and giving insightful responses to the inquiries.
“It just blows me away how intelligent those students are when they are in that type of situation,” Mahrer said. “It’s just about setting up situations in which students will ask the questions.”
Mahrer, a graduate of the University of Mary, Bismarck, received her master’s degree in educational leadership in 2007.
Knodel said the district, Mahrer's students and the state of North Dakota are fortunate to have Mahrer in the vocation.
“Whether she is mentoring her brother or her colleague, there is no doubt that she cares deeply about others, and this compassion no doubt translates to her own students as well,” Knodel said.
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