‘Controlled Chaos’

CONTROLLED

MS ACTE’s 2021 Teacher of Year Hones Creativity, Autonomy in Engineering Students

Amanda Gronewold

The Mississippi Association for Career and Technical Education selected Jackson County School District engineering instructor Dr. Richard Humphreys as its 2021 Teacher of the Year.

Humphreys, who completed his 11th year teaching at St. Martin High School (SMHS) in Ocean Springs, transitioned into career and technical education (CTE) following a career in the U.S. Navy.

Humphreys helped influence the instruction of K-12 engineering throughout Mississippi, as he has volunteered his expertise to engineering curriculum and assessment writing teams, an effort he described as a “collegial pursuit.” Secondary CTE curricula and assessments in Mississippi are developed by teams of instructors, industry representatives and other experts, coordinated by the

Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit.

“Our curriculum doesn’t have a set of textbooks or a textbook, so everybody teaches it slightly dif- Humphreys ferent,” he said. “You have to state things in ways that can be understood by everyone.”

Humphreys approaches instruction with a hands-off philosophy — he said he thinks of himself as more of a mentor than a teacher.

“I teach them the principles, but I don’t necessarily teach them how to do their project or what to do on their project,” he said. “I have found that my students get far more from the projects when I am not dictating their work to them but working as a coach or a consultant with them.”

SMHS Principal Dina Holland attested to Humphreys’ approach and said his classroom’s atmosphere is “controlled chaos.”

“He loves for students to think outside the box,” she said. “He gives them the basics, and then he lets them go on their own.”

Holland said she believes his teaching style is successful because it allows students to encounter setbacks and overcome them on their own.

“Seeing it and experiencing it are two toOpposite page: St. Martin High School (SMHS) engineering instructor Dr. Richard Humphreys (from left to right) and Team 5735F members Nolan Brechtel, Drew Parker and Dustin Gavins demonstrate a new GPS sensor and sensor tape. Top: Humphreys (center) stands with VEX Robotics Jackets STEAM Team 5735F members (left to right) Emma Trochesset, Alayna Tagert, Jacob Smith, David Rossow and Jody Noble as they display the VEX Excellence Award they earned at the Mississippi VEX Robotics State Championship at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2020.

Left: Humphreys, Jackson County School District (JCSD) Assistant Superintendent David Baggett, Jackson County Board of Education (JCBE) Vice Chairman Keith Lee, JCSD Superintendent Dr. John Strycker, SMHS senior engineering student Nathaniel Bryan, JCBE Chairman Troy Frisbee, SMHS Principal Dina Holland and JCBE member Jory Howell at a ceremony honoring Bryan for winning the Association for Career and Technical Educators national student trophy design contest in October.

Humphreys and Gulfport School District Middle School robotics mentor Michael Quintero (right) keep score while officiating a VEX Robotics competition at Pass Christian Middle School in March.

tally different things, so he lets them fail in it,” she said. “Through failure comes success.”

Success comes to many of Humphreys’ students, especially when they participate in VEX Robotics competitions. He said his hands-off approach works well for coaching the teams.

“My students do all the work,” Humphreys said. “I always say they do all their own stunts. If they win, they won. If they lose, we lost. We win far more than we’ve lost, and they enjoy it.”

Humphreys mentors a high school team and an elementary school team, and both have won state-level awards that advanced them to the VEX Robotics World Championship, where they contended with as many as 1,100 international teams representing 30 nations.

Relinquishing control and autonomy to students does come with challenges, Humphreys said.

“At first it’s really hard because you almost have to let go of everything with your students, and timelines are hard to stick to because everybody works at a slightly different clip,” he said. “Sometimes you have to explain to your principal or vice principal why there aren’t grades for a long section of time.”

Jackson County CTE Director Dr. J. J. Morgan said Humphreys boosts the confidence of academically lower-performing students by placing them in leadership positions on the teams.

“He goes out of his way to recognize kids that need it,” said Morgan.

Humphreys is admired for dedicating many late evenings and long weekends to supporting his students. Additionally, he works behind the scenes to secure funds for projects, activities and equipment, which does not come cheap.

“It’s tough to keep up with Dr. Humphreys as far as keeping the technology in his classroom,” Morgan said. “The engineering program is very expensive to set up — that’s a $200,000 laboratory. Things do get outdated very quickly, so we have to keep up.”

To fill in the financial gaps, Humphreys draws from previous grant-writing experience. He regularly applies for them and has secured as much as $200,000 from a single grant. He said grants may be an underused resource for educators and more should apply.

“They’re a wonderful way to sustain what you need,” he said.

A National Board Certified Teacher, Humphreys also recommended other teachers pursue the certification and touted the process as “a great way to learn more about your own teaching practice and improve your trade.” He also stressed the value of joining professional teaching organizations.

Humphreys said he finds his students’ excitement contagious.

“The students who show up and continue to work at something after everyone else has left a lot of times — that’s really exciting because, you know, they’re on to something,” he said. “And I think it’s a work ethic that they’re going to take with them into their career or into college or wherever. And if you can’t teach that, you can help hone it.”