As Mark Van Doren once stated, “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” Science teacher Kim Pack knows this well as she was re­cently named Cookeville High’s Teacher of the Year. Hailing from Crossville, Tennessee, Mrs. Pack became a member of the CHS faculty after earn­ing her bachelor’s degree in science and has been teaching students for seven years since.

However, teaching was not the first career that came to mind when she was in college. Majoring in biochemistry, Mrs. Pack had the intentions of work­ing in scientific research. When asked by her professors to tutor other students in her field, she took the job by teaching individ­uals in the beginning and later progressing to group sessions. These group sessions are what sparked her desire for teaching and prompted her to do so as a career. “I love having students ‘get’ a hard topic and have their ah-ha moment,” states Mrs. Pack, “I also hope that I can transfer my love of math and science to them.”

Mrs. Pack does so persis­tently everyday in her third floor science classes and labs so that students can grasp a bet­ter comprehension of the sub­ject, and she understands that persistence is a key factor in assisting the student.

Her favorite quote, from Albert Einstein, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new,” showcases this aspect of her career best as she abides by it throughout the year.

Mrs. Pack attributes her success in teaching to the vibrant atmosphere of Cookev­ille High. When asked what her favorite aspect of CHS is, she replied, “The awesome teach­ers and the awesome students! For this to be such a big school, we have extremely well-be­haved students who really work hard to succeed. I was very honored to be considered the teacher of the year while com­peting against so many other great teachers.”

And there are still more teachers to compete against. Mrs. Pack represented Cookev­ille High in an interview at the central office on February 4th to compete against the teachers nominated from Monterey High School as well as Upperman High School.

If the central office selects Mrs. Pack then she will rep­resent Putnam County in the competition for Tennessee High School Teacher of the Year. There, she would com­pete against other high school teachers from every county in the state and would interview again, but this time with state officials.

Congratulations to Mrs. Kim Pack for her nomination as Cookeville High’s Teacher of the Year! It’s an honor to have the title and an honor for our school to have her as a teacher. We look forward to having her represent this school in further interviews and wish her the best of luck!