By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
A Bowling Green Middle School student was asked to name his favorite class. Instead, he named his favorite teacher – Tomas Roman. When asked again to pinpoint a favorite class, the student explained.
“Anything Mr. Roman teaches is my favorite class,” BG Kiwanis member Judy Wahrman said, repeating the student’s high praise.
Roman, who is in his 18th year of teaching sixth grade science at Bowling Green City Schools, was recognized Thursday as an inspirational teacher by the BG Kiwanis Club.
“I try to make science fun for the kids,” Roman said.
When he tells people that he teaches middle school, Roman is often greeted with “ooooooooh.” But he loves helping students with science building blocks – or scaffolding.
“That’s right where I want to be,” he said. “I get to be a 12-year-old every day.”
He gauges his students’ attentiveness by their reaction to his “dad jokes.”
“They roll their eyes at me. That’s how I know they’re listening,” Roman said.
Roman likes to make science relatable. So when learning about boiling water, he references mac and cheese. When learning about rate of travel, there’s a dripping ice cream cone involved.
“I like getting the kids to think,” he said.
Roman tried out one lesson on the Kiwanians Thursday.
“I’m going to treat you like 12-year-olds,” he said.
The members were presented with a story problem. So if Josey and Jack are eating ice cream cones, and Jack’s begins a constant drip, what can Josey conclude by looking at the drops left behind as Jack walks away? Using their cellphones, the Kiwanians could plug in their answers, which immediately gauged their understanding of the concept.
Many of the lessons taught in sixth grade science reappear later in middle school.
“You start seeing the light bulbs go off,” Roman said. “We’re building the stage.”
Teaching online during COVID was tough on both teachers and students.
“We’re standing on our heads to get the kids to focus,” he said.
Now students are bringing a lot of “baggage” with them to school, Roman said. Some new teachers are really struggling with handling both the lessons and the emotional issues of students.
“I know the content really well, so I can focus on what they’re bringing in,” he said. “It’s hard for a newer teacher.”
Roman praised the leadership of Middle School Principal Eric Radabaugh, who attended Kiwanis with him on Thursday.
“Everyone in that building would do anything for him,” Roman said of Radabaugh. “He lets us be teachers. He’s not nit-picky.”
