Sussex Post

MILLSBORO — Cindy Baker has never wanted to be anywhere else.

The Millsboro Middle School teacher is one of only seven middle school teachers in the nation to be national recipients of the National Council for Geographic Education’s Distinguished Teaching Awards for 2008.

"I was shocked as I could be and also very honored," said Ms. Baker. "It’s very overwhelming."

She loves the constant challenge and difficulty of teaching middle school students, even if it means juggling 50 things at once. "I have never wanted to be anywhere else," she said.

"It’s the stimulation of always having to be at the top of my game. ... It’s always difficult and never boring, but there is something that makes you want to come back and it’s usually the kids," she said. "I like middle school kids."

She is quick to give credit to her family and husband and to the rest of the school staff for her success. "It is an absolute team effort. I have been influenced by the best. ... I know I did not do this by myself," she said. "I am lucky and I know it."

"You can’t just go home. ... You can’t work 8 to 3. Kids are not 9 to 5 beings," she said. "You are always looking for a way to reach them. I know other teachers who feel the same way. It goes beyond the school day. It does consume you."

"You have got to like these kids...You’ve got to take it seriously," she said. "It is what I really love to do."

She came to teaching late, raising her children and then starting college at age 30 to become a teacher. "Everything just sort of fell into place for me."

She has never looked back. The long hours and the challenge of never being able to settle for what she did last year are worthwhile when you reach that one child, she said. "It is that one kid...It doesn’t get any better than that."