On February 22^nd, Humanities Texas presented the annual awards to encourage excellence in teaching and recognize Texas classroom teachers who have made exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development and extracurricular programming.

“Humanities Texas is pleased to recognize the achievements of Matthew Campbell and Langham Creek High School,” Humanities Texas Executive Director Michael L. Gillette said. “Mr. Campbell inspires and motivates his students to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”

With four years of teaching under his belt, Mr. Campbell has worked to leed the expansion of the U.S. History program, which included the creation of an AP European History class.

“In only three years as a teacher, Mr. Campbell has made a mark at Langham Creek,” Principal David Hughes said. “He is energetic, engages students in a subject matter and he demonstrates his passion and love for what he teaches.”

Campbell has helped the growth of the A.P. U.S. history program from 120 students to over 300. Part of his success in expanding the AP U.S. History program is certainly due to his innovative and creative teaching methods and classroom activities that foster the importance of learning and understanding history.

“It is my job as a teacher to show students that history is a fluid and ever changing narrative that is constantly being re-synthesized,” Campbell said.

Whether engaging students through art, music, primary sources, literature or pop culture, Campbell requires his students to partake in the historical process.

“My biggest accomplishment is when the students become the historians and the teachers,” Campbell said. “I like to see it as students doing history instead of just learning it.”