Bobbie Cavnar (‘11M) continues to add accolades to his resume. The North Carolina Teacher of the Year is the nation’s top educator for 2018 as selected by the National Education Association Foundation (NEA).
Cavnar completed a master’s degree in English at UNC Charlotte in 2011. He has taught English at South Point High School in Belmont since 2003.
Known as the teacher who makes English literature come alive, Cavnar looks for ways to keep his students engaged in the material, according to a recent article in the Charlotte Observer by Ann Doss Helms.
The Observer article noted that when a group of students filmed scenes from “Macbeth” just for fun, Cavnar turned it into an annual assignment – one that was featured in a video completed by the NEA for the recent awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Cavnar was one of five finalists who had received Horace Mann awards for teaching excellence, which came with a $10,000 prize. In winning the NEA’s top award, Cavnar received an additional $25,000.
“So once again, the man who spends his days in a well-worn classroom decorated with fringed lamps and antique clocks is taking his message to the digital world. It’s a message about the beauty of language, the value of thinking deeply – and the pride that comes from making a career as a classroom teacher,” wrote Helms.
“The arts are not always measurable. And right now, if you can’t count it, it doesn’t seem to count,” Cavnar told Helms. “Math and science are really important to sustain life. They are how we are going to move into the future. But the arts are how we are going to learn to understand each other.”
Cavnar noted in a video produced by the NEA that many of the world’s great artists, thinkers and inventors were born into poverty. “But they were given the opportunity to let their genius show, and that’s how public education equalizes life.”
Click here to read the entire Charlotte Observer story. Inside UNC Charlotte featured Cavnar when he was named N.C. Teacher of the Year.
Watch the NEA video featuring Cavnar.
Photo courtesy Charlotte Observer and reporter Ann Doss Helms.