November 18, 1997
Boulder Daily Camera
by Monte Whaley
Sharon Sikora helps eighth-grader Andrei Riabinin with his dissection exercise during a biology class at Summit Middle School on Monday. The students cut open bananas as an introduction to dissection tools and procedures. Sikora is one of three finalists for the Colorado Teacher of the year award.
Photo by Marty Caivano
Bananas were the victims in Sharon Sikora's Summit Middle School biology class on Monday. But no one will be happier than Sikora when they soon will be replaced by intestinal worms, rats and sheep brains.
That is what makes Sikora such a good teacher, say students and parents. She heaps on plenty of science with an enthusiasm and a teaching method that assist nearly everybody in learning.
"She explains things very well," said student Renee Jakaitis.
"And she gets so excited about it," added co-student Michelle Evans.
Sikora's abilities also have been noticed by the Colorado Department of Education, which announced Monday that she is one of three finalists for the states Teacher of the Year. The winner will be announced at a banquet Dec. 3 at the Denver Museum of Natural History.
Recipients of the award not only become the automatic nominee for national Teacher of the Year honors, but they also act as a teaching ambassador to communities and organizations around the state and nation.
The 38-year-old Sikora didn't have any of that on her mind Monday afternoon when she led her advanced biology class through its first dissection. The victims - bunches of bananas.
Sikora used the fruit to teach her seventh- and eighth-graders the proper techniques of cutting and slicing. When they become more adept, they will bisect small animals to learn more about anatomy.
Sikora breezed from student to student during the dissection practice, answering questions and offering critiques on cutting procedures. Her energy level easily matched those of the adolescents.
It was hard to picture Sikora holed up in a stark research lab, where in fact she spent a good chunk of her academic years prior to being hired at Summit two years ago.
Sikora, even though she coveted the experience, is happy she broke from the lab and made it into the classroom.
"I knew my strengths were in teaching," Sikora said. "I felt lonely in research."
She was always enamored with science, something she inherited from her pharmacist father. Whenever she came home from school, her father was working on an experiment.
But the small, private school she attended in Hawaii didn't emphasize science. So she had to wait until college before she could immerse herself in zoology. She went on to earn a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Denver.
She taught graduate-level courses at DU and did research, including a breakthrough project that examined how proteins are responsible for black and white vision in animals. She also taught chemistry at Metro State College in Denver and then toured the state as an instructor with the Museum of Natural History.
It was during her stint with the museum that she realized her ambition of having her own classroom filled with fiery middle school-aged students. Sikora enjoys making science relevant and understandable to them.
"I want to leave them with a really good impression of science. If I can hook them now, it will really help them in college," Sikora said.
"And besides, I just really love to teach."