Houston Receives MKA's Founders' Cup for Teaching Excellence

Congratulations to MKA Upper School Foreign Language Chair and French teacher Dr. Michael Houston who was named the recipient of the 2011 Founders' Cup for Teaching Excellence. Presented annually by the Alumni Association, the Founders' Cup is based on nominations from all MKA constituencies and honors a full-time faculty member who exemplifies the highest levels of teaching, as well as contributes to the well-being of the MKA community, both in and out of school.

A member of the MKA faculty since 1998, Houston has long been lauded as an exemplary teacher, advisor and role model to his students. A lead organizer and chaperone of foreign studies trips to France and Quebec, he is also co-advisor to the Gay-Straight Alliance and is the Upper School Scheduler.

"Beloved" is not an adjective easily earned by faculty, but student support for Houston's nomination, just some of which is transcribed below, demonstrates that Houston is indeed a beloved member of the Upper School faculty:

"His intense passion and genuine excitement for the language and culture is contagious. He can make any student ecstatic about learning a new subjunctive phrase…   I do not know one of his students who does not adore him as a teacher and as an adult to look up to."

"I think that MKA should model its curriculum after Dr. Houston's teaching ways."

"He has taught me for two years at the Upper School, and during those two years he has inspired me through language in a way that no other teacher has been able to do. In every class, he demonstrates his passion for the French language and this passion is felt by all of his students. He is also inspiring outside of the classroom. I know that his door is always open for me to talk to him, and I am always comfortable talking to him about problems."

“Doc knows how to relate to students in a way that makes them love to learn. Doc can see the best in each individual and is an excellent teacher. Doc loves to teach, and it is through his love for the language that he makes us value it too." It is hard to imagine words that better sum up the qualities of an ideal Founders' Cup recipient.