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: BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog

Credit where credit is due

This is always one of BoardBuzz's favorite times of the year. No, not because the sun has finally come out and it appears that summer is right around the corner (although that helps). No, what really charges us up is the announcement of the Teacher of the Year, which happens every year right about this time. And this year is no exception. The Council of Chief State School Officers has named Michael Geisen of Oregon as 2008 National Teacher of the Year. According to CCSSO's Web site,

Geisen, a science teacher at Crook County Middle School in Prineville, Oregon, is the 58th National Teacher of the Year. He will begin a year as a full-time national and international spokesperson for education on June 1, 2008. ?A great teacher,? he says, ?is a unifier of ideas, a unifier of people, and a unifier of ideas with people. In my teaching I strive to bring together creativity and science, to unite my students into a community, and to help each person in this community connect with the big ideas of science.? Working to keep textbooks to, as he describes it, 97 percent colorful wall decoration and 3 percent reference materials, this seventh-grade teacher strives consistently to keep all of his curriculum, labs, assignments, activities and evaluations hand-tailored. As Geisen explains, ?By doing so, I?m able to correlate them exactly with the Oregon standards, incorporate multiple levels of cognition, revise them when needed and keep them up to date with emerging science. Some of them are based on ideas that colleagues or students have shared with me, but many of them I simply dream up while in the shower or while driving to work. However they originate, I try to put a bit of myself, a bit of Prineville, and a good dose of humor and creativity into each activity, project or assignment. In fact, students even laugh during tests in our class."

And that's no laughing matter! Be sure to check out the full press release and the CCSSO's Web site for more information about what makes this teacher a stand out. You can also check out the teacher's of the year who were recognized in each state.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on May 05, 2008 (boomark / email).