Taro Gaither, a 27-year-old social studies teacher at Eastern Regional High School, has received the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction Award from the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS).
High-school teachers must have their names submitted by students to win. Gaither has won a teacher of the month award but this marks his first Claes Nobel. He’s not sure which students submitted his name, but thinks it may be those he encounters in school sports.
Teachers who win the award – which started in 2007 and has gone to more than 75,000 teachers – are eligible to receive a variety of grants offered by the NSHSS.
Gaither, who grew up in Pemberton Township, coaches winter track, spring track and football, with some of his football students crossing over to track. One of them, junior Terry Cook, has seen his times decrease while working with Gaither, an accomplishment that could help the former earn college scholarships.
Gaither said when the NSHSS reached out to him about his award, they encouraged him to help spread the word.
“They want to make it as known as possible because it’s kind of a growing thing,” Gaither explained. “They said to reach out to the press … brings more awareness and attention to the teachers in the area that have been doing a tremendous job.”
Gaither got a full football scholarship to Seton Hall University, where he earned a bachelor’s in history with a teaching certificate and a master’s in innovative instruction, something he utilizes in class. While he didn’t make it past the college level in football, that didn’t stop him from taking what he learned in the sport into teaching.
“One, we have to be vocal,” he maintained. “We have to learn how to work together as a team to accomplish a task at hand, whatever the task may be.”
Gaither cites working together, being disciplined and good time management are assets.
“In college football, you’re up at 5 in the morning working out,” he noted. “Then you go eat, and then you go practice afterwards. So you’ve got to manage that time, kind of the same thing I use today. Wake up, (have) a lesson plan prepared for the classroom, get through the teaching day, grade and practice.”
Gaither teaches because he believes young people are the future and wants to nurture their education.
“I always wanted to give back to the younger community,” he pointed out. “I always thought education was the key in life. I think the ability to make a real difference for students, to mold them – they’re the future of our country, they’re the future of the world.
“So that idea, that aspect of giving as much knowledge to the younger generation has always inspired me, so that’s why I got into teaching.”
Before working at Eastern, Gaither taught 10th and 11th grade at the Burlington County Institute of Technology and coached football and basketball at Pemberton Township High School. Coaching track at Eastern, he said, made him realize how much more he enjoys track than basketball.
“You get to see them getting better every single time you have a meet,” he related. “You can ask yourself, ‘Wow, the fact that it’s been paying off, the workouts are paying off,’ because it’s timed. And it’s timed by laser. Someone’s running a 12 flat and then the next meet they run an 11:05, you can see those results.
“Sometimes in basketball you can’t always see results at every game.”
While he won’t be changing how he teaches, Gaither said winning the Claes Nobel makes him want to do better.
“Honestly, it just encourages me to keep making an impact,” he observed. “Encouraging me to even wanting to do better. How else can I make more of an impact? How else can I reach more students to see the value in education with social studies, to be involved in the school community?
“What else can I do to get them into it?”
Taro Gaither got a full football scholarship to Seton Hall University, where he earned a bachelor’s in history and a master’s in innovative instruction,
