State's top history teacher shocked by honor Warren Hills' Jesse O'Neill lauded. Young teacher applies lesson learned from students, stays humble. Friday, June 23, 2006 • By KAT MAIN • The Express-Times At 28, Jesse O'Neill thought he was a long shot at best. The Warren Hills Regional High School social studies teacher never thought he'd win the New Jersey History Teacher of the Year award. "I haven't been at it long," the Easton resident said. "I try hard, but with the high quality teachers I work with and across New Jersey, it's an honor to be thought of." The award was given out by the New York City-based Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America. It honors an exceptional K-12 teacher of American history from each state and U.S. territory. First given in 2004, the award is part of a White House initiative for teachers with a career commitment to teaching history, creativity and imagination in the classroom. "The goal (of the award) is to give recognition to people who don't get it and to put teachers out front for what they're doing," institute spokesman Eric Sharfstein said For his win, O'Neill will receive $1,000 and his school will receive an archive of history books and materials. "The teacher wins and the school wins simultaneously," Sharfstein said. Materials include reproductions of historical documents from the institute's collection. "A big part of what we do is take documents and give them to teachers and students rather than leaving them in a dusty closet," Sharfstein said. O'Neill said he's honored to be the New Jersey representative receiving them. "Teaching has to do with the assignment that you're given, I was fortunate to be given assignments in American history," O'Neill said. A State College, Pa., native, O'Neill received teaching certificates in English and History from Penn State University. O'Neill said teaching is in his blood. His father was a second-grade teacher; his mother works for the Head Start program. Before joining Warren Hills on a full-time basis five years ago, O'Neill worked as a long-term substitute in the district and at Easton Area High School He presently teaches 10th and 11th-graders social studies and English. Although his interests lie in American history, O'Neill said he's happy teaching teenagers just about anything. "I think that a bigger challenge is teaching skills and the importance of critical thinking (such as) how to assess, adjust and change," O'Neill said. Those skills, while important in the academic world will, more importantly, help teenagers as they enter into the real world, he added. Another thing he likes about teaching high school-aged students is they tend to keep him humble, O'Neill said. "You learn pretty quickly not to get a big head," O'Neill said. "The students keep you grounded and you learn not to think of yourself as anything special." Reporter Kat Main can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at kmain@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.