Hillsborough Teacher Nationally Honored For Hard Work, Dedication

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough High School teacher Robert Fenster is receiving more accolades for his hard work and dedication to his students.

This time, the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) recently awarded Fenster, a US government and politics and history teacher, with the 2022 NSHSS Educator of the Year award.

NSHSS is the premier honors and scholarship program co-founded by Claes Nobel and James Lewis.

Fenster's way of teaching is derived from his own experience growing up. He went through three years of "unimaginative teaching" from past social studies teachers before hitting his senior year when he experienced a wide variety of student-centered lessons like mock trials and elections, simulations, and inquiry-based research.

This led him to realize how important an exciting and interactive classroom is. This solidified the fast that Fenster says students learn best by doing.

Now as a teacher himself, Fenster varies his approach where his classes are based on the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom model, in which students are given choices on what types of assignments to complete based on their learning goals, often choosing how to demonstrate proficiency and mastery in different ways.

Examples of his teaching include having groups of students working on a cooperative learning exercise, another student watching a video on YouTube, a group of students in the hallway filming a video to be presented to the class, a student creating a graphic organizer based on two articles they’ve read, and a group of students designing a game to demonstrate their learning.

"His goal is to teach them how to become critical thinkers so when they have to make decisions that affect their lives or the lives of others, they can think logically, critically, and soundly," according to the release.

This isn't the first time Fenster has been honored. In 2022, Fenster was selected as one of only five career teachers to be inducted into The National Teachers Hall of Fame. Read More: Hillsborough Teacher To Be Inducted In National Teachers Hall Of Fame