One teacher at Newark Valley Middle School is trying to shape her students lifestyles.

And her students say... Its working.

Meet our Educator of the Week.

Mrs. Joy Jackman teaches Family and Consumer Science here at Newark Valley Middle School.

Her 8th graders learn about ettiquette, good manners, nutrition... And even how to cook.

"And what do I need to measure liquids?"

"Every year we read about food being recalled and I want my kids to know, you buy locally, you prepare your food, you make good choices," says Jackman.

Morgan Evans nominated Mrs. Jackman because he says she's an inspiration.

"We learned how to saute vegetables and onions and all sorts of stuff. We've made chocolate cake," says Evans.

They cook food from scratch, and they look closely at food labels... Including those widely-used energy drinks.

"We are living in a different world where its.. where the kids have so many new products, so many new things thrown at them that they really have to know what it is to make good choices, everything comes down to good choices," says Jackman.

"Is calorie an ingredient? Nooo."

Good choices and good recipes...

The students from last year say they learned a lot from this teacher.

"I thought I knew how to cook and I didn't need this class but then after I went through it I knew it helped me a lot," says Mikaela Brown.

And that was Mrs. Jackman's goal.

"I think I give my kids a jump start on life, so that they can make really wise choices to be a complete person as an adult," says Jackman.

As for Morgan... He says he tries to take the things he learns here and cook at home... But his recipes are never quite as good as they are in the classroom.

If have a teacher, you'd like to nominate for Educator of the week, you can go to our website wbng.com...