By Kris Leonhardt
Editor-in-chief
On Thursday, Feb. 15, the Greater Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce surprised its 2024 Golden Apple recipients.
The local teachers were recognized in the areas of professionalism, leadership and innovation.
Leading up to the April recognition event, the Press Times will highlight the eight honorees.
GREEN BAY – Nathan Knight is a seventh and eighth grade math teacher at Bay View Middle in Howard-Suamico School District.
The first-time Golden Apple recipient is in his 17th year of teaching after obtaining his degree at UW-Oshkosh.
Knight said he found his path to education during his high school years.
“I kind of figured out that education is where I want to follow and pursue,” he recalled. “My mother was a teacher at the time. I had some aunts and uncles that were in education. I had a lot of exposure to helping them set up classrooms and do that stuff towards the end of summer beginning school year, so I had that exposure to education. I had great relationships with a lot of my teachers and love working with kids and it was just an easy path to follow.
“It’s absolutely rewarding when you see a student when they figure it out when they kind of don’t need you anymore for that support and they can do it on their own. It’s a really rewarding feeling, knowing that they’re ready and they’re ready for the next challenge and the next step. So I love that. It’s wonderful. It keeps me coming back.”
Knight said that every day at work is fun for him.
“I enjoy hanging out with kids. I love seeing them. I love spending time with them, making jokes, relating to them, sharing my experiences and helping educate them and better understand and become creative critical thinkers,” he said.
Knight said that he stays involved in his students’ lives past their time in his classroom.
“A lot of my former students here are still involved in high school. I can go to their musicals and see them perform or go to their sporting events and see them perform. So I love seeing that and it’s always fun to interact with them,” he added.
Knight knows how much relationships mean to the students and how that support can play a major role in their lives.
“I have a couple of teachers growing up that I can think back to really connecting well with and helping inspire me. But I’ve also had some experiences that were not amazing and part of wanting to teach was trying to provide a better opportunity than maybe what I had,” he explained.
“(In) middle school, some teachers that I had, I got through middle school, but I feel like I could have had better connections with them or they could have had better connections with me. What’s super important to me is building a relationship and the learning and all that will come with it, if you can have a good solid relationship with the students. So I’m trying to provide that because that’s maybe something I didn’t get as much of in my education.”