HH_112316

10 | November 23, 2016 | The Homer Horizon NEWS
homerhorizon.com
LTHS teacher wins award for being top drafting educator in Illinois
Erin Redmond, Assistant Editor
Jeff Brown was in the midst of
celebrating his students’ success at
the Illinois State Technology Day
when he received some shocking
news.
Without even knowing he was
nominated, the Lockport Township
High School teacher was told he
had won the Illinois Drafting Educators
Association R. Tim Phillip
Award for 2016 for being one of the
best Illinois drafting educators.
“It was pretty exciting, and obviously
it was a bit of a surprise,”
Brown said. “It was a lot of good
news at once.”
Each fall, one teacher from
around the state is chosen to receive
the IDEA’s award. Brown was nominated
by a former student teacher,
Ryan Altenburg, and formally received
his award at the end of last
month at the IDEA Fall Conference
in Bloomington.
“I owe where I’m at right now
with my career [to Brown],” said
Altenburg, who student taught under
Brown in the fall of 2013. “He’s
been a great role model to me; he’s
someone who I aspire to build my
program after.”
Altenburg, who now teaches at
Bolingbrook High School, said he
adopted many of Brown’s practices
and principles into his own classroom.
He has even admittedly “stolen”
some of the projects the LTHS
teacher has his students complete,
which has led to some of his own
students landing jobs in the field.
But some of the most important
lessons Altenburg said he learned
had little to do with drafting. He
said Brown understands not all of
his students will want to enter the
field, and that is OK as long as leave
armed with real-world skills such as
teamwork and constant professional
development.
“He helped me understand that it
really is just about helping the kids
discover what they’re good at and
where they want to take it,” Altenburg
said. “He said, ‘If some of you
leave here not wanting to be an architect,
that’s OK, because at least
you’re figuring it out now.’”
It is a lesson that Brown had to
learn for himself, too. From an early
age, the College and Careers Applications
teacher had a passion for
drafting and dreamed of becoming
an architect. But once he got to college
and realized it would take almost
a decade before he could be a
working architect, he discovered a
better suited career.
“To me, that was just too long to
get started,” said Brown, who has
been teaching for 27 years, 21 of
those at LTHS. “I also worked in the
Boy Scouts teaching merit badges. I
coached soccer, and I just thought,
‘Hey, I could teach architecture. I
got the best of both worlds.’”
Even though he has been teaching
for almost three decades, Brown is
just as passionate as when he started.
Students typically come into his
class knowing little about drafting,
architecture and engineering, and
he said he loves the opportunity to
watch their transformations.
“I’ve had students who it’s their
first year in drafting, and by the end
of the year in April, they’re state
champions, second place, third
place in state — it’s just incredible,”
Brown said. “When you continue to
see that kind of growth in a student,
that’s amazing. That makes it worth
it.”
Like Altenburg, several of
Brown’s former students have followed
his lead and pursued careers
in drafting education or architecture.
In fact, he saw a former Lockport
student working on a remodeling
project at LTHS and said it was
“neat” to see him back on campus in
that capacity.
While retirement is creeping
closer for Brown, he has no plans of
putting away his drafting tools just
yet. Winning his award has left him
humbled and excited to continue his
career in the classroom.
“I can’t retire yet,” Brown said
with a laugh. “I’m going to keep
going at it, absolutely, as long as I
keep enjoying it. I have the health
right now, the interest, the drive. As
long as that’s there, I’ll keep going.”
Illinois Drafting Educators
Association President Steve
Skorup (left) gives Lockport
Township High School teacher
Jeff Brown the R. Tim Phillip
Award for 2016 for being one
of the best Illinois drafting
educators. Photo submitted
Ready for a new, more modern
approach to real estate?
CALL ME TODAY to find out how I utilize the latest
cutting edge technologies to get homes SOLD FAST.
Dan Kenney | 708.629.6452
DanKenneyHomes.com
Curious to know what your home is worth? Visit my home pricing website – homerglen.smarthomeprice.com
Want to search for homes on the go?
Download my mobile app to your smartphone or tablet.
Simply text kw2glm4lc to 87778 or use my QR Code
You can also find me on
+