This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Highland High School history teacher Rob Gardner has loved history since he was a young kid. He just didn't realize it until college.
Growing up in Chicago, he read books like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown, and The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. He didn't view them as history books because he thought history was found in dusty textbooks, not in compelling literature.
It was the late 1960s and 1970s, and Gardner was interested in the social issues of the day, such as the Vietnam War. He didn't take any history classes in high school.
"If I had the choice between psychology and history, I'd take psychology," said Gardner, who has been named Salt Lake City School District's Teacher of the Year for 2011, for teaching history.
Later, at the University of Utah, Gardner took classes such as European History from Ronald Smelser, and U.S. History from Alan Coombs. He realized he had been intrigued by people from the past all along.
Gardner started his 32nd year at the blackboard last week. Preparing students for the future is one of his main focuses.
"I really work hard on trying to get them as prepared for college as I possibly can," Garnder said. "Their world is going to be more competitive than my generation's was."
Throughout the years, he has taught biology and psychology, but now teaches history/social studies full-time. His classes include: Advanced Placement U.S. History, International Baccalaureate History of the Americas, ninth-grade honors geography "and whatever else they ask me to teach in social studies."
Teaching history is about telling "stories about humans in places you can never go," Gardner said. "If you can get students connected, they'll see how much they really are like them. History is about people."
Gardner is one of the more popular people at Highland.
"He's one of the most sought-after teachers in the building, in high demand. It's waiting-room only to get into his class," said principal Paul Schulte.
Highland senior Noga Ardon was one of the lucky ones who got in.
"He teaches really thoroughly," said Ardon, who had Gardner for AP U.S. History. "He's really good at explaining basically anything, and he's usually in his classroom ready to help if you need it."
Her reaction to Gardner winning Teacher of the Year and the accompanying $2,000 prize?
"I can't imagine a better teacher to get it," Ardon said.
In addition to being an engaging educator, Gardner also spends time building relationships with students. He holds Saturday study sessions, cheers for the Rams at sporting events and other extracurricular activities, and is willing to visit students when they're sick, Schulte said.
"He takes the time to get to know kids individually and is very, very approachable," the principal said. "Kids know that he cares."
Gardner's favorite parts of his job: "just being at school, spending time with kids, talking about teaching with colleagues, being able to read about the things I get to read about for a living. It's the energy of the kids that keeps you going."