How is kindergarten like grad school?
The students are surprisingly similar, according to a couple of married teachers who moved to Westfield during the pandemic. Dinner conversations at the Schubert household reveal that the challenges of elementary school students and those pursuing post-graduate degrees may not be so different.
Yvette Schubert is a 28-year veteran of Indiana schools and teaches at the Rosa Parks Kindergarten Academy in Perry Township. Last week, she was awarded Teacher of the Year by her principal. She also received flowers from two of her students, but that was before the announcement. Her number one concern with five-year-olds? Telling them over and over to stay focused on their task.
“Same for me,” says her husband, Peter, who teaches in the Purdue School of Engineering & Technology at IUPUI. He supervises a small team of graduate students who have already earned their Bachelor’s degrees in science or engineering and are pursuing a MS or Ph.D.
“They are curious, and want to pursue every new thing they learn,” Dr. Peter Schubert told The Reporter.
Dr. Schubert also mentors undergraduate students and just finished supervising three senior design teams. Since 2011 he has been the faculty advisor for the student rocket club on the Jaguar Campus, called Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS). For his efforts, IUPUI just awarded Dr. Schubert the Alvin V. Bynum Award for Excellence in Academic Mentoring.
What does this education power couple think of Westfield? “Our neighbors are very friendly, and everything we need is close by,” said Yvette, who holds a Master’s degree from IUPUI.
“I’m delighted at all the restaurants,” said Peter, who received his doctoral degree from Purdue. They live close to the Monon Trail and look forward to exploring north and south by bicycle.
So, how do their jobs compare? Yvette is at school every workday and manages a class of 28. Peter works from home twice a week and teaches electronics to a class of eight. At night, Yvette works on lesson prep while her husband grades exams and corrects student papers. Both really enjoy getting to know their students.
Then, every summer, students move on; and every fall, new ones arrive. From time to time a former student will reach out and thank them. “That’s the best recognition,” Yvette said.
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Peter was previously honored on campus with the Bantz-Petronio Translating Research Into Practice Award for making connections between academic research and benefits to the community. In addition to his full-time job as a professor, he is the CEO and president of his own high-tech start-up, Green Fortress Engineering, Inc.
“I serve as director for the Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy,” Peter said, “and the Senator impressed on me the importance of commercializing university technology to create jobs and stimulate the economy.”
His patented work in green hydrogen generation and storage has attracted funding from the National Science Foundation, and also by a Japanese company operating in the U.S. “The ultimate is teaching students how to create their own jobs,” he says.
Now that summer is here, the Schuberts have time to visit their two grandchildren. Additionally, there are two more on the way.
In their own home, they are joined by two Aussie-doodles, littermates Stella and Luna – with names inspired by the famous children’s book by Janell Cannon.
Peter has recently published his first book, Space Systems Architecture for Resource Utilization, by Cambridge Scholars Press. In the fall, he plans to use it in his teaching and research.
How are their students alike? Each one is an individual, they agree. Everyone learns in a unique way, no matter how old they are. Perhaps this is the secret behind this award-winning educator power couple. Both emphasize the importance of being a lifelong learner, not only for their students, but also for themselves.