March 30, 2011
Robert Bentley Jr. strives to educate children in all areas of life
Social studies department chair Robert Bentley Jr. has a love of history, which anyone who has entered his classroom can clearly see: From the memorabilia to figurines, bits of history line the walls of his room.
“History
has always been a passion. History and culture and passing them on to
future generations are necessities that I am afraid are getting lost,”
he said. “When I am talking about history, the students know it means
something to me. We are guardians of our culture, and it is our job to
pass it on.”
During his 22 years at BKW, Bentley has taken on a myriad of roles from teacher and department head to coach and advisor, and even as cast member in the school musical.
“When people think about teaching, people just think about the classroom,” he said. “It goes way beyond that.”
As department head, Bentley has worked to integrate more technology into the classroom. Each social studies classroom now has a projector for showing PowerPoint presentations. Academically, he made sure the core curriculum was mapped. He is also looking at more interdisciplinary opportunities with other departments.
“Rob and I work closely together because our two classes (American Literature and AP American History) have overlapping curriculum. It’s nice to work with someone who is so knowledgeable about his own subject but has such an appreciation for literature as well,” English department chair Audra Rys said. “Every year, I’m in amazement at how much Rob knows about history. I like having him across the hall from me because I learn something new every day when he’s teaching his classes. I purposely leave my door open so I can hear his lectures.”
For Bentley, teaching opportunities arise outside the classroom as well. He stepped into an advisory role last year for two student organizations: Key Club and Student Senate. Since taking over as advisor for Key Club, membership increased from six to 44 students.
"I make the distinction between teacher and educator very infrequently. Mr. Bentley is truly an educator,” Secondary School Principal Tom McGurl said. “In the classroom and out, he challenges, encourages and promotes our students at every opportunity. In looking for a Key Club advisor, Mr. Bentley was an obvious first choice. His personal passion for service and community spills over at every meeting. I know the students respect Mr. Bentley and appreciate his efforts. I certainly do as well.”
Under Bentley’s direction, Key Club members have collected $500 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, $400 for UNICEF and $200 plus 200 toys and 100 pounds of food for the Hilltown Holiday Drive. Currently, the students are coordinating with elementary teachers Molly Tiffany and Stefanie Scram to volunteer with the “Read Across America” program and are also volunteering to tutor elementary students after school.
“It’s all about giving back to the community and building leadership and a network of students willing to give back,” Bentley said.
When asked last year to oversee the Student
Senate, Bentley was eager to accept.
“I always thought of student government as an integral part of high
school. The Senate works on leadership to make school a better
environment.”
Members recently built shelves for the
restrooms and are currently working to get a bronze statue of the school
mascot for the gym. They also handle much of the secondary school’s
bottle recycling.
“I can’t be more proud of them. They really work hard,” he said.
Bentley also used to coach the girls JV basketball, modified track, girls softball and girls JV volleyball teams and said that, down the road, he might return to coaching.
As far as lessons in the classroom, Bentley goes beyond books. He likes to have a little fun with students while putting his collection of more than 300 ties to good use.
“I like to start out a new school year by wearing a different tie every day from September until winter break, except one I wear twice. Then, I have the students try to guess which one,” he said. “It’s fun to see how observant they are. I always get one or two that get it right.”
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