Teaching Is Its Own Award
Alum Joey Robins ’03, recent winner of prestigious Milken Educator Award, exemplifies VWC education program
By Karen Mercer | February 6, 2011
During a routine school assembly at Deep Creek Elementary in Chesapeake, Virginia, fifth grade teacher Joel “Joey” Robins ’03 received one of the biggest surprises of his life. Joey was awarded the prestigious 2010 Milken Educator Award by the Milken Family Foundation. The award comes with a $25,000 prize and a trip to the foundation’s National Education Conference.
A native of Chesapeake, Joey was inspired to become a teacher by his grandmother, a former educator, and his parents, who instilled a love of learning in each of their 10 children. After graduating from Deep Creek High School in 1999, Joey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from VWC and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia. As an early commitment candidate with Chesapeake Public Schools, he was hired to teach second grade at Deep Creek. Two years later he moved to the fifth grade.
Virginia Wesleyan education candidates like Joey are called upon to commit to "making a difference in the life of a child."
“Joey truly exemplifies this commitment, made possible in part by the training and support he received from our education faculty and staff,” says Dr. Malcolm Lively, Director of Teacher Education at VWC, “as well as the concerted effort of the whole college to ensure graduates enter the classroom as knowledgeable and effective teachers.”
For Joey, teaching is about developing a student’s intrinsic motivation for learning and being curious about the world around them. One of the lessons he learned from VWC is to realize that when each child comes to school, they are so much more than the boy or girl sitting at a desk. He makes a point of getting to know each child for who they are.
Positive reinforcement is his goal for classroom management. At the beginning of each school year, Joey and his students develop the classroom guidelines together. He then goes through each guideline and models for the students what is acceptable and what is not. Rules are important, but so is having fun.
“I get up every morning excited about going to work,” says Joey, “knowing that every day will be different.
Joey and his wife, Sarah Robins, a fellow Chesapeake teacher and VWC alum who received her teacher certification through the Adult Studies program in 2006, live in Deep Creek. When not teaching, Joey is busy coaching field hockey, playing baseball and softball, and helping his sister by acting in community plays that she directs. He and Sarah enjoy traveling locally and spending time with family and friends.
Joey emphasizes that the Milken Award is an honor he shares with his school and the community.
“If it weren’t for the people I work with, I don’t feel this recognition would have happened.”
Leona Baker contributed to this article.