SCI Teacher Robert McLaughlin wins Teacher of the Year award
LANCASTER − A teacher at Southeastern Correctional Institution, a minimum/medium-security prison for male inmates in Lancaster, has won the Correctional Education Association's Ohio Teacher of the Year award. Robert McLaughlin is a vocational plumbing teacher at SCI who will now compete for Region 3 Teacher of the Year.
Before he began his time at SCI, McLaughlin grew up in Circleville, graduating from Circleville High School. He then went on to college at both Hocking College for criminal justice and Ohio State University for teaching. After that, started as a correction officer at Pickaway Correctional Institution. Then, after moving to maintenance, he became interested in teaching. He has now spent his last seven years at SCI.
McLaughlin was nominated by one of his peers at SCI for the award, although he does not know who put his name up for the honor. According to him, he would love to find out who it was so that he can thank them.
"Anybody can nominate anybody, to this day I cannot figure out who," said McLaughlin. "It would be nice to really thank the person, you know. It gave me a boost of confidence that I'm doing something very worth doing."
While this award gave McLaughlin the confidence to know he was doing something worthwhile, he ultimately said all the credit should go to his students and the hard work they put in.
"For me, I think it's a great victory with my students," said McLaughlin. "It shows their accomplishment on a platform that they really don't get recognized. For me to say I'm teacher of the year without mentioning my students wouldn't do it justice. It's their hard work and it's just bringing a light to them and giving them the accomplishment and the acknowledgment."
The thing about McLaughlin's teaching style that he said sets him apart is his ability to relate to people from all walks of life and his willingness to learn from his students.
"I'm blessed to have a lot of friends from a lot of different areas so I can relate in a sense, but I can also put it in relating terms for someone that's not walked my path of life," said McLaughlin. "They can understand it and we can progress. If not, then I allow my students to teach me. It's not just me teaching them, it's actually them giving me that lesson of life, how they need to understand content, how they need to understand step-by-step basics of how to do something. So, I listen. It's not all about me, it's not about how I've done it or the way it's always been."
One of the ways in which McLaughlin feels that he makes an impact is by setting his students up to find jobs after his class. Handing his students the blueprint for success and showing them how to develop their skills is an important part of his job, he said.
"We work on employability, soft skills, how to develop them, how to use them, and how to keep them after my class," said McLaughlin. "We go over how to write a resume, where to find employment, we use OhioMeansJobs."
"My students know I have a list of individuals that will hire, when they get released in their certain areas, they know where to contact people that will get them a career that has livable wages, insurance, and retirement." said McLaughlin.
A specific example that McLaughlin recounted of a time he impacted a student's life was when he helped a 68-year-old man who had dropped out of school early in life and had never held a job. McLaughlin helped him get a high school equivalence. He then went on to get a college education and find employment.
"We worked really hard," said McLaughlin. "He put in a lot of hours, before class, after class, he always wanted more to do, more to study."
"When that all fell into play, it was something I as an instructor could say, 'I played a part.'" said McLaughlin. "He did the work, he did absolutely everything, but I had a part and that made me feel good."
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: SCI Teacher Robert McLaughlin wins Teacher of the Year award
