By Kate Bagwell
Patricia Hofeditz was alone in her office when she received a thin envelope from the Humanities Texas Organization. Due to the inconspicuous size of the package, Mrs. Hofeditz was expecting a letter of thanks and recognition for her application – she was started to find that she had won the nationwide competition.
The Outstanding Teaching Award associated with Humanities Texas recognizes exceptional teachers in the Humanities, or English, departments. Hofeditz was nominated last November by a former student who was interning for Pete Sessions.
“At the time, I really shoved it aside,” Hofeditz said. “After being coaxed by my colleagues, I finally decided to apply. I had to do a lot of writing on my philosophy of education and give some sample class ideas,” said Hofeditz.
After sending off her application in January, Mrs. Hofeditz heard no response from the association for months.
“As you college kids know, if you get a thin letter in the mail, it’s bad news, generally,” Hofeditz said. “I opened it up and I had been awarded! There was nobody around to tell, so I immediately called my husband. It was a wonderful experience.”
Mrs. Hofeditz was awarded with $5,000 personal dollars and $500 academic dollars. She plans to spend her personal reward on a surprise for her children and hopes to use the $500 dollars for the betterment of her students’ educational experience.
“Pete Sessions came and talked to my students about the importance of education and how he can tell that learning takes place when he walks into my classroom,” Hofeditz said. I was immensely honored overall and it was a great experience”