By Dixon Bledsoe
When Jim Brueckner started teaching at Silverton High School in 1973, girls didn’t play basketball.
Nationally, Title IX changed that in 1972. In Silverton, Brueckner did in 1976.
At the first tryout, 90 girls showed up to vie for 30 spots, none having played basketball. Brueckner and his assistant coach Tom Steers held free camps for girls in 1976 and had their work cut out for them. Steers subsequently lead the Lady Foxes to two state championships in 1989 and 1994.
Over the years Brueckner also served football coach and baseball coach, and still volunteers with Fox football.
For all he has done as a teacher, coach and community member, Brueckner, 64, is the Silverton Chamber of Commerce 2014 Lifetime Achievement recipient.
Sara White, Brueckner’s longtime friend and walking buddy, is effusive with praise for the 42-year educator.
“He is simply put the best science teacher on the face of the earth. We are so lucky to have him,” White said.
Brueckner has taught physics, chemistry, accelerated physical science, geology, oceanography and marine science at Silverton High School.
He has “retired” but still teaches on a regular basis. Although he doesn’t talk about it much, one of the indicators that it was time to retire and enjoy life more came about in July 2011, when his wife Jill and he were knocked down to the ground during the terrorist attacks in Norway. The two attacks killed 77 people. It also prompted them to volunteer with the Red Cross.
His teaching philosophy is borne of a love of kids. He and Jill have three sons, Jacob, 33; Travis, 31; and Nathan, 28.
Brueckner said his goal is to teach students three things.
“I have tried to always be consistent with this approach,” he sad. “First to teach them to learn the basics and how to study. Second to understand how they, as individuals, learn – visual or auditory, and third to teach them to think and reason.”
Brueckner has found A and B students can be the hardest to teach because they want instant feedback. He encourages all kids to find their niche because “the world needs everybody. Find what’s you.”
He has another take on education, especially after high school.
“College isn’t for everyone. There are some great jobs opening in the trades from electricians to welders.”
Dr. Wade Marcum is a 2002 graduate of Silverton High School and an assistant professor at Oregon State University. He has a Ph.D in nuclear engineering. He found great value in his time in Brueckner’s chemistry and physical science classrooms.
“He deserves this award without a doubt,” Marcum said. “He is funny, inspirational and extremely honest, always treating us like adults. He handed me a paper once and I received a B-. He looked at me and said, ‘I’m disappointed.’ And you know what? I was too because I knew and he knew that I hadn’t put in my best effort. It didn’t happen again.”
A junior at Silverton High School, Ally Schmidt echoes that sentiment.
“He is a great teacher. He teaches us in ways where we learn the best. I am more visual and he knows that. He is very intelligent and fun to be around. I think there is even a Facebook page with some of his favorite sayings, like when something goes wrong. ‘That sucks bilge water.’”
Chuck White joined Brueckner as a teacher at Silverton High School in 1973.
“He just has a big heart and a total commitment to kids. He loves to see them grow and he has motivated so many into loving science and becoming doctors, dentists and pharmacists,” White said.
Brueckner has two favorite stories. The first is about a boy who couldn’t understand why he was being forced to understand electricity, claiming he would never use it.
With the support of his parents, Brueckner worked with the young man on a Saturday to get him to the point of passing. The young man is now in electronics with Intel.
Another student, a girl, got married as a high school junior but wanted to be the first in her family to graduate high school. She needed one year of math to graduate and she was just not good math.
As Brueckner puts it, “She also played basketball and the whole team made it a goal to help her pass. She knew this team was like her family and were counting on her, so they quizzed her in practice, in the hallways, wherever they saw her. She wanted to be a police officer after she graduated and last I heard she was on her way.”
He’s taught priceless lessons about life. And his students love, respect and remember him for it.
