Inspiring Educators: Weekly Roundup 10/22/18
A common thread for those who have taken up teaching as a career is an inspiring teacher in their past. Teachers who ignite a passion for learning have a contagious spirit that often makes their students want to take up the profession — and this is highlighted in many of this week’s stories. If you’re an educator, is there a teacher who moved you to follow suit? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook @enrichingedjobs!
In Brooklyn, a kindergarten teacher was awarded $10,000 for her hard work. The Park Slope teacher has a reputation for giving her best to her students, really knowing them, showing them empathy and individual attention. Her relationship with her students is made clear in this video. Watch and learn more about this award, and what she decided to do with it.
In this heartwarming video, part of a program called Ask Gran not Google, 1st and 2nd grade students in Australia interview their grandparents about teachers who inspired them, and why. One woman remembers that, at a time when students weren’t supposed to talk in class, she had a teacher who would ask the students questions and get to know them, and let them talk and ask questions as well. Another woman remembers an art teacher who inspired her so much that she decided to become an art teacher herself. Watch the full interview to hear all of their stories.
At Wimbledon High School in London, physics teacher Edith Goakes has received an award from the Institute of Physics. Physics has been recorded to be the second least popular course for girls, but that hasn’t stopped this teacher from inspiring the girls in her class to be passionate about the subject. She has also led a STEAM initiative to help inspire students across subjects. What is her response to receiving this award? “I’m passionate about physics and delighted to get this award — but it’s the girls I teach who are outstanding — I love teaching them.” Read more about how she inspires her students.
Teacher Romayne Charles has just been awarded Britain’s Gold Award for ‘Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School’. Her humble response was “It is not my award, it is a school award – without my colleagues and the students I would not have won it.” Like so many teachers, teachers from her own school days inspired her to take up teaching herself. She is known to be a warm, enthusiastic “inspiring teacher who has the highest expectations and engages warmly with staff, students and parents,” says the school’s headmaster. Learn more about her inspiration, and why she was selected for this award.
