FISK, Mo. - Science teacher Landon Ham is "the greatest of all time," or at least that's what the majority of his students at Fisk Middle School said.
In a world where the spoken word competes every day more greatly with technology, student engagement is an uphill battle for teachers. Yet in one way or another, they somehow find out-of-the-box ways to accomplish this feat.
However, according to Ham's students, the Twin Rivers R-X teacher goes above and beyond in his mission to bring fun and learning to the classroom.
"There are some amazing teachers at this school, but Mr. Ham is the best," sixth-grader Lonnie Powell said.
Ham, a Twin Rivers alum, said his guiding philosophy is rooted in an effort to share his experiences of the outside world with his students.
"For me, the most important thing to remember is, some of these kids never get to go see or do things that I had the privilege of doing or that others kids do," Ham said. "We can't always take them to these places but we can try to mimic it and give them the opportunity to experience things they otherwise may not get to do."
Ham has developed a reputation among Fisk's fifth and sixth-graders for his interactive projects in-and-out of the classroom.
The planetarium is one of the projects Ham and his students made that garnered much positive feedback. Consisting of thick, black plastic, duct tape and a box fan, the inflatable structure reaches nearly seven-feet tall at it's peak and takes up half of Ham's classroom.
Ham said building the planetarium was an inexpensive way to make learning about the stars a bit more enjoyable.
"I started doing Google searches for the best way for the kids to see the stars," Ham said. "I found this and thought it would be a great thing to do."
Students are able to enter the dark planetarium and see a replica of the constellations found in the February sky shining through. Ham spends one day each year teaching lessons inside the giant, black bubble.
"I really liked it because it helped study the stars," student Cody Bennett said. "We climbed into something that looked like a giant trash bag and there were stars up on the ceiling. I ended up learning a lot."
"We studied the stars and the atmosphere," Skylar Chaffin added. "It was pretty awesome."
Building a hovercraft is another project Ham and the students both enjoyed. The contraption floats about one foot off the ground and is sturdy enough to allow folks to go for a ride.
"It's basically a piece of plywood with a tarp on the bottom and a leafblower," Ham said. "It's just kind of fun for them to ride on. We have a fall carnival in the gym and that's one of the rides. The kids think it's neat because they made it."
Principal Leeann Mann said Ham is a great asset to the middle school and she sees many teachers at Fisk Elementary and Middle schools going out of their way to bring new experiences to their students.
"It's important to get the kids excited about learning," Mann said. "Even if it's something they're not very interested in at first, it could spark their curiosity and lead to them do research on their own."
Ham said he enjoys letting the students guide his lessons and that thorough class discussion is of great importance to him. He said granting students ownership of the lessons means engagement is less of a challenge.
"The way I cover something may not answer all of their questions or I may assume they understand something when they don't," Ham said. "When I present the material my way and let their conversation guide it from there, I think we cover a more broad spectrum of information.
"I've had some great teachers and then I've had some who are pretty cut and dry, and I don't want to be the second kind."