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NFM teacher Molloy wins Golden Apple

3 min read
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Adam Molloy PHOTO PROVIDED

When you enter Adam Molloy’s classroom, don’t expect his students to regurgitate facts. He makes his kids really think.

The North Fort Myers High School history teacher uses some interesting techniques to get his lessons across, allowing the students to be the jury of what truly happened in the growth of our nation.

On Friday, Molloy was given the surprise of his life when he learned he was named a Golden Apple recipient by the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, which recognizes the very best in Lee County schools.

Molloy has spent his entire nine-year teaching career in Lee County, and currently teaches AICE (Advanced International Certificate of Education) Global Perspectives, AICE International History, and AICE American History to 10th and 11th graders.

He said he always wanted to strive for the Golden Apple and be considered, as he put it, one of the “Joe Dimiggios of education.”

When he got it, even later on that day, the honor still hadn’t sunk in. Molloy said.

“It’s an emotional rush. It’s like in the classroom when you get that adrenaline to perform and put on a great lesson,” Molloy said. “It drives you to create these transformative lessons.”

Molloy said he knew it was a student who nominated him, but didn’t know the exact one (or ones).

Molloy said he knew the Foundation was touring the county and was following via Twitter, and he said he wished there was closure to it.

But when an army of Foundation members, Golden Apple sponsors, Golden Apple selection committee members, their administrators and colleagues came in, he knew.

“I was shocked. I was resigned to fighting next year. I thought I had Golden Apple stuff and was going to give it another shot,” Molloy said. “When they came in, it was like ‘No way.'”

Molloy, who called himself one of a cadre of young teachers who are using different strategies, uses a transformative form of lesson structure to engage his students, making them use critical thinking and analyze why things happened and not just what happened.

“It’s a student-driven collaborative process where the kids are transforming the information in debate-type structures and group work,” Molloy said. “They are the driving aspect of the lesson. I am just a by-product of a culture that promotes innovative creative strategies.”

Molloy had many people to thank, from the administrators to staff to the students who encourage and promote cutting-edge, next-level teaching.

The most important person he thanked was his mother, who teaches drama and theater at North High and got him started as a teacher when he was hired by former North principal (and Golden Apple winner) Kim Lunger.

“My mom has been a true inspiration for me. She embodies to me the art of teaching. The strength of character, the energy and passion, I wanted to obtain that. It’s been cool to share the same kids over the last nine years and I know she’s really proud,” Molloy said. “It’s not just a North High thing, but a family thing.”