2 WNY Teachers Inducted Into The National Teacher Hall Of Fame

8th-grade social studies teacher at Springville Middle School Andrew Beiter, along with Thomas J. Knab, a visual arts teacher at Dodge Elementary in East Amherst have been inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame according to a report aired on WIVB-TV.

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“I love my job, teaching is a sacred profession to me, if I do my job well somebody is going to remember my name for the rest of their life,” Beiter said.

“I was surprised, elated, when you look at the other nominees it’s like wow! They chose me as one of them!” Knab said.

Teaching during a pandemic has prompted teachers to being more creative in their approach to the craft.

Knab for instance uses a cart to go into the classrooms, instead of having his students go into the art room, each room he visits is set up differently, "so it’s a little bit of a challenge, but we’re making it work,”

Beiter, a 25 year veteran of the teaching profession, is being honored for his role in training teachers and students about the Holocaust.

“So many of the problems that exist in the world today can be rooted back to something that should of been taught, or should of been taught better,” said Beiter. “Working with our staff here in Buffalo and around the country, we’ve been able to provide teacher in-services, and online offerings and in-person conferences, that will hopefully allow them to take a deeper-dive into these problems with their students.”

The Foundation is awarding each inductee $1,000 they can use on classroom supplies and resources.