Moon is TCC Teacher of Year

Brandon Moon’s recipe for student success includes hands-on learning.

It means acquiring skills like communication and how to wear many hats in the workplace.

It’s more than preparing and serving award-winning food, but Moon teaches that as well.

Moon is the Poplar Bluff R-I Culinary Arts - Prostart teacher at the Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center, where he was selected as the campus Teacher of the Year.

Faculty, parents and students give him rave reviews.

Requirements for the honor include being poised and articulate, exhibiting enthusiasm and meeting a challenging schedule, which are all the attributes he instills in his students.

While his students study in a classroom, they have to transfer the skills they’ve learned into a commercial kitchen.

Many attribute the students’ advancement to Moon’s style of teaching.

Wysteria Oetjen said Moon pushes the class to communicate not only in kitchen-specific terms, but personally. While the classes are creative and fun, Moon also makes the curriculum seem fresh and different.

Calling Moon “a strong role model,” Gaelan White said, the teacher helped him to develop his skills with customer service, teamwork, adaptational skills, leadership, stress management, time management and more.

The parent of one student diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome praised Moon and his teaching skills with helping her son make tremendous progress not only in multitasking, but maintaining focus and prioritizing but his social interaction. Moon’s extra time and patience, she said, have helped her son to not only improve his culinary skills, but his life skills as well.

“It is always such a relief in having educators recognize the impact they are making on the children and the realization they are shaping them as a person and play a large role in their later success as members of society,” the mother said.

Oetjen said, “I cannot tell you how much this class has helped me. I am a very anxious person and trying to meet and talk to people is sometimes challenging. Mr. Moon pushes the class to communicate both in personal communication and in kitchen safety communication. He also pushes us each into leadership positions.”

TCC Financial Aid Director Candy Taylor said, “Mr. Moon spends countless hours of his personal time making sure his students compete in district and state Skills USA competitions. He often spends evening time and weekends preparing for bakery sale days and special occasions such as the senior showcase.”

Taylor commented that Moon’s “ability to connect with his students, along with his talent at helping each student to be successful, is truly inspiring.”

Moon and his students also partnered with the United Gospel Rescue Mission to coordinate student/teacher participation for preparing meals during two major holidays.

Moon’s education and teaching career are as varied as his talents and skills.

He has an associate’s degree in baking and pastry arts from Sullivan University, Louisville, Kentucky. He studied middle school education at Three Rivers College before transferring to Southeast Missouri State University to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Middle School Education. He was a language arts instructor at Greenville R-II Elementary School and a mathematics instructor at Greenville R-2 Junior High School. He coached seventh and eighth-grade volleyball at Greenville.

As culinary arts instructor at Poplar Bluff R-I Technical Career Center, he is a National Restaurant Association-Prostart classroom instructor as well as the manager of the Mules Cafe, a student-run restaurant.