Nominate a great teacher for the PEOPLE Teacher of the Year Award. People Magazine will honor 5 educators (K-12th grade) with a $5,000 award. Download a form at people.com/teacherofyear. Nominations will be accepted through July 2nd. Judges for the award are the editors of People and a panel of education professionals:
John Legend – Grammy-winning musician and philanthropist
Wendy Kopp – Founder and CEO of Teach for America
Lily Eskelsen – National Education Association
John Deasy – Superintendent of the LA Unified School District
Kimberly Oliver Burnim – a prize-winning Maryland teacher
One of my favorites teachers is really a pair of teachers – Mr. James Jarrett and Ms. Liz Kowalski. They taught 6th grade at Van Buren Elementary School in Plainfield, Indiana. They were a great team – Kowalski taught math & science. Jarrett taught language arts and social studies. They were great for many reasons:
- They challenged us. There was a group of 6-8 kids who worked ahead at their own pace to the point where they ran out of curriculum for us. That’s how we started learning algebra on our own as a group with their guidance. That is how we ended up taking a speed reading course together.
- They had high expectations; they made us want to be better, smarter, more effective students.
- They cared about us. They pushed us to be creative, and introduced us to new things. They made learning fun!
Tell me about your favorite teacher and what made them great!
I don’t recall Mr. Harvey during my time at Van Buren. I had a great time at that school. I loved to work at my own pace and she ever since! I would love to see Mrs. Kowalski now – does anyone know where she is?
I also had these teachers. congratulations on your success.
Do you remember Mr. Harvey ? I unfortunately got left behind in the open concept and almost failed out in 7th grade. That school had lots stuff going on at the time. I saw Mrs Kowalski in 2005 as she was retiring after 30 years.