MHS Teacher Wins Award ; Woman Named New Mexico’s Top Social Studies Instructor

By BETH HAHN Mountain View Telegraph

Moriarty High School teacher Peggy Jackson has been named the best social studies teacher in the state for the 2005-06 school year.

In April, Jackson could be named one of the best in the nation.

A veteran educator, Jackson has been teaching social studies at MHS for seven years.

Jackson grew up in Abilene, Texas, and received a bachelor’s degree in education from Texas Tech University. She began teaching in San Antonio before moving to New Mexico in 1985.

During a stint with Albuquerque Public Schools teaching eighth- graders, she earned a master’s degree from UNM.

Jackson was then recruited to teach social studies in Moriarty.

“I’ve never regretted coming out here for one minute,” she said last week after a senior government class.

Jackson said she wants her students to learn how to think critically.

“I don’t want to teach them what to think, I want them to learn how to think,” she said.

Most of her classes consist of seniors and include in-depth discussions on topics relating to U.S. government.

Jackson’s students often participate in classroom discussions that can get loud, but her goal is to teach students to understand both sides of an argument.

The walls of her classroom are decorated with news clippings of interesting events, photos of current and former students, photos of government officials and her certificates and awards.

She is also working on a second master’s degree at UNM, this one in political science. Jackson was awarded a Madison Fellowship, a $25,000 grant to pay for a master’s degree for educators who teach classes on the U.S. Constitution.