Sergeant fights for character education
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Fairfield Central physical education teacher Kim Nuxhall calls fellow teacher Jason Jackson an "NBL" — natural born leader.
That's why Nuxhall, the executive director of the Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund, has brought Jackson, a sergeant in the Kentucky Army National Guard, on board to help teach and promote character.
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"I just see the great potential in him. He understands it right from the get-go," Nuxhall said of Jackson, a first-year teacher, incorporating character education into his third-grade classroom.
Jackson was introduced at the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce annual dinner last month and will be involved with the character education fund. Details of his involvement still need to be discussed, but he will coach a team in the summer Butler County Reds Rookie Success League at Water Works Park.
"I'm thinking somehow, someway we want to get him involved with our mission and projects we're doing," Nuxhall said.
Character education is something Jackson believes in, he said. He incorporates it into his teaching in a variety of ways, such as writing, but also from local news.
Jackson has used Dustin Carter, the Hillsboro state-qualifier wrestler who has no arms or legs, as an example. His students didn't know who Carter was before Jackson tole them about him, he said.
"What a wonderful kid this kid is with all these odds stacked against him," Jackson said.
The relationship with Nuxhall and Jackson started when he was introduced at the beginning of the school year, saying he was a "Yes Sir, no Sir" kind of teacher.
"The rules of character ed apply to everyday life," Jackson said. "I told that to Mr. Nuxhall and he gathered me up and we sat down and we talked about the character ed program that was taught there at Fairfield Central."
Jackson first picked up his traits of character from his military experience. He served 13 months as a logistic specialist in Iraq and the Middle East, returning to the United States in 2005.
He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Eastern Kentucky University, and was the 2007 Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year with the Kentucky Army National Guard and regional NCO runner-up of the year.
"What a wonderful opportunity to take the bull by the horn and keep running with it," Jackson said about working with the character education fund. "We talk about test scores all the time and I think we forget the real, true meaning of what it means to be respectable, honest. It's just a building block of success, in my eyes."
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.
