SHERMAN, TX-One Texoma teacher was recognized Thursday afternoon with the highest award given to history teachers in the state of Texas. She said she was surprised, but her colleagues weren't! Victoria Maranan spoke with her and brings us her story.
Dozens applauded as Sherman High School history teacher, Diane Clark, was given the Daughters of the American Revolution's teacher of the year award, which is the highest honor given to a history teacher in the state.

"I was totally shocked and quite honored," she said.

Clark said her love for history started when she was a little girl, getting lost in the library reading history books and said she brought that passion into her classroom for 29 years.

"I like biographies, I like stories about our founding fathers, I liked about the first ladies. I thought it was interesting," she said.

The D.A.R. is a national non-profit organization that promotes patriotism, historic preservation and education. State regent, Joy Dabney Hagg said Clark was selected from over 100 candidates by the judges panel because she motivates students.

"The teacher of the year is a teacher who is not only a good teacher, but an innovative teacher. And she brings history alive to her students in a way that is much better than reading it in a book," she said.

Clark is the second teacher from Sherman High School to receive the honor and Hagg said it's unusual to have teachers from the same area receive the award two years in a row.

"It doesn't happen very often but obviously the teacher pool or the people recommended in the Sherman-Denison area are outstanding, and this speaks not only for the teachers but the school district and for those people around them," she said.

Clark hopes the award will inspire the future generation to pursue teaching.

"I hope it just encourages more people to go into teaching. You know, it's a hard field to go into now with all the financial problems that all the schools are having and so not many kids are going into teaching and I hope it convinces them that it's a profession that's worthwhile," she said.

Clark's entry will be sent to the D.A.R.'s headquarters in Washington D.C. where she'll be considered for the national award.