State Representative Wendy McNamara (R-Mount Vernon) presented the Sagamore of the Wabash award to Jon Carl, a U.S. history teacher at F.J. Reitz High School in Evansville. The award is one of the highest honors the Governor of Indiana can bestow and is presented to those who have rendered distinguished service to the state.
“Jon’s passion for transforming the way students learn speaks volumes about his dedication and commitment to his community and the future of Evansville,†Rep. McNamara said. “His innovative ways to engage students in his classroom are an inspiration to all educators.â€
Carl recognized a lack of student interest and involvement by young people in the local historic community. Seeking to address the issue, he created a class that motivates students to become real local historians and feel the history, his life motto. By integrating technology and bringing the historic community into the classroom, he created a learning pathway for students to become a part of the history they were studying.
Over the course of his 20-year teaching career, he has created hundreds of student historians. With the technological and historical research skills necessary for success in the 21st century, they are preserving and publicizing local and national history.
