A science teacher at I.S. 68 in Canarsie is tops in the city.
Betty Picpican, who teaches general science at the Isaac Bildersee School at 956 East 82nd Street, received a Siemens Science Teacher Award for her dedication to students and her creative and engaging way of teaching science.
“We give an award to recognize 10 top teachers that are doing fantastic work and inspiring the next generation of scientists,” explained James Whaley, president of the Siemens Foundation, which presents the awards in partnership with the New York Hall of Science in Queens.
Picpican, a Midwood resident, was surprised by her win – especially since she didn’t even know she was nominated.
“I did not know that I got it. So when I got that information, I showed it to my husband and I said, ‘Look at this! I have this! How did I get this?’” she recalled. “It was a pleasant surprise.”
Explaining why Picpican was selected for the award, Whaley said the teacher relates science to students’ daily life, which fuels their interest in learning.
“She tries to instill science and math into everyday life. She talks about their food, their bodies, their surroundings,” Whaley said. “She believes that through this process she can apply math and science into the curriculum. Sometimes those two subjects can be very dry and if you don’t capture kids’ attention, sometimes you lose them.”
Picpican says she also works to “incorporate art and technology into the course so they could have something to look forward to.”
“Every Friday is art or technology day. Whatever lesson we have, I find activities that we could connect to it,” she explained. “It is engaging and it actually helps them calm down their nerves – the curbing of some problems, like emotional problems or anger, and letting them sit down and do some coloring. It pushes them and tells them that they can do it. It’s self-esteem boosting. It’s from that that I can move forward and say if you can do this, you can learn the concept in physics. I use it as a starting point so that I am able to grab their attention and I am able to get their trust.”
