- April 22, 2024
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The green, leaf-shaped insect rested still on the back of iFlagler teacher Dana Lique's hand as he narrated a one minute and 40 second video about the creature for his students.
"He yields high results from his students because of the high expectations he sets and the relationships he builds with his students."
— ERIN QUINN, principal, iFlagler Virtual Programs
The katydid's leaflike shape and color, he explained, evolved because ancestors with more leaflike qualities would have been less susceptible to predation.
"This adaptation likely started as a simple mutation for a variation of color, meaning within a population of its ancestors, some of them are green, so they blended in, they survived more, they reproduced more, and then of course they passed on that trait to their offspring," he said.
Other leaflike traits would have been passed on similarly, he said, as he reached toward to a vine to let the insect step off.
Lique, iFlagler's 2022 Teacher of the Year, has long been fascinated by the natural world.
A kayaker and angler with a degree in marine science and a captain's license, he'd created a fishing charter and eco-tour business in Ponce Inlet before becoming a teacher at University High School in 2010. He came to Flagler Palm Coast High School in 2014, then to iFlagler in 2020.
"I loved the teaching aspect of the eco-tours so much that I felt the need to get inside a classroom to share my love for science and the outdoors to the local community," he wrote in a statement for his Teacher of the Year application. "I spent 10 years in the classroom with a very hands-on approach to teaching, and then COVID hit. I then volunteered with iFlagler and loved it so much I decided to stay."
At iFlagler, he created his own “Lique Vision'' YouTube Channel for videos like the katydid one.
"These videos he creates are incredibly engaging, whether exploring a local ecosystem, creating a quick lesson on the planets using time lapse video or simply using other teachers as guinea pigs for demonstrations," fellow iFlagler teacher Jose Santiago-Buedo wrote in a letter of support for Lique's Teacher of the Year application.
"As a coworker, he is available to help or assist any faculty member with technical problems with our equipment or to contribute ideas in generating new teaching methods or approaches with students."
— JOSE SANTIAGO-BUEDO, iFLagler math, Spanish and science teacher
Lique works to connect with students despite the distance inherent in virtual instruction, wrote Flagler Virtual Programs Principal Erin Quinn.
"As a virtual instructor, it can be difficult to build relationships with students and families," Quinn wrote. "This is not an issue for Mr. Lique. ... Dana Lique is responsible for numerous activities that expand beyond the classroom. Not only is he an amazing teacher, he is able to bring live instruction to the virtual classroom."
He also helps students connect with each other: Lique created an iFlagler Gaming and Social Club and an app-based social platform as a venue for students to socialize with their peers.
"I am continuing to develop this club and constantly thinking of other ways to bring students together," he wrote. "On top of the benefits of student interaction and socialization, this platform has provided another means to get in touch with students whom, due to the nature of virtual learning, may be difficult to get in touch with."
