Lisa McBride: Oklahoma’s history teacher of the year
By Dominic Leading Fox
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has named Lisa McBride the 2023 Oklahoma History Teacher of the Year—and History’s not even her only class.
“Nobody from Owasso’s ever gotten it,” McBride said triumphantly.
McBride lectures her AP US History class about colonial taxation, photo by Dominic Leading Fox.
Widely known and loved at Owasso High School, Psychology and AP History teacher Lisa McBride does more than just read passages from heavy books or watch documentaries—she envelops herself in what she teaches and aims to help every one of her students improve themselves. This year, Gilder Lehrman has recognized her with the well-deserved award.
“Gilder Lehrman…[is] an organization which deals with American history,” McBride explains. “They have education for teachers…programs for high school kids, they do book breaks and things like that.”
But what does it take to earn this award? For McBride, it was the care she puts into her profession, on and off campus.
“During the summer, I grade for AP, I go to AP conferences…I’ve now done three National Endowments for the Humanities. I’m applying for a White House one for the summer,” McBride said excitedly. “I have to apply and be selected for those. I seek out those things; I want to continually be learning.”
It’s often said an AP teacher’s goal for the school year is to prepare their students for the AP exams in May, yet McBride holds a goal that may be even more impactful.
McBride instructs a student on playing King George III, photo by Dominic Leading Fox
“I want them to critically think,” McBride informed. “I try to ask them open-ended questions…so that when they leave [high school], they have the ability to critically think, to analyze things. Not only for college, but for their life, and especially [for politics].”Through her immersive teaching style, McBride doesn’t seek to mold students to her views but rather to “get them to think of what issues would be critical to them.”
McBride hopes to use the study of history in order to ensure that every student can create their own path in life, logically and critically.
In typical American History teacher fashion, McBride summed up her philosophy on teaching with a simple Teddy Roosevelt quote:
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
It’s this kind of care that earned Lisa McBride the Gilder-Lehrman Oklahoma History Teacher of the Year Award. She utilizes every day on campus to not simply better her students, but help her students better themselves. McBride is more than a teacher—she’s a mentor, friend and life-long student.