Washington, DC, January 12, 2005 - A public school teacher from California, the District of Columbia, Iowa, or Washington State will be selected this year as the 55th recipient of the nation’s top teaching honor -- National Teacher of the Year -- according to G. Thomas Houlihan, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and Ernest Fleishman, senior vice president of Scholastic Inc., the global children’s publishing and media company. The National Teacher of the Year Program is a project of CCSSO and is sponsored by Scholastic Inc.
California
Stanley W. Murphy is a social studies teacher (grades 9-12) at San Diego High School in San Diego, California. Murphy, who has taught a total of 34 years, has been an educator at San Diego High, a school of 2,850 students, for 28 years.
“It is crucial in a democratic society that history and civic education teach students the habits of the mind that promote judgment, which all citizens need to perpetuate and revise American institutions,” Murphy says. “Teaching democratic principles is challenging because they often clash and are continually evolving. I expect that all of my students will think critically about controversial issues, and demonstrate the proficiency to write and verbally express their opinions on such issues. My goal is to help students understand that democracy is a journey, not a destination. Each of them has an important role to play in shaping the world. Along with that, they must deal with the difficult understanding that, like the momentous 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision will not solve America’s education problems today; there are no permanent solutions to democratic problems.”
District of Columbia
Jason Kamras is a mathematics teacher (grades 7-8) at John Philip Sousa Middle School in Washington, DC. Kamras has taught for eight years, all at Sousa which has 385 students.
“If all schools are to be held accountable for the achievement of their students—as I believe they ought to be—then we must ensure that all schools have the resources they need,” Kamras says. “When I make this argument in casual conversation, I am often told that our nation lacks the funds to fully support public education. I reject this. The resources exist; it is the political will that is lacking. A substantial increase in public education funding is essential to the long-term strength and success of our country. As educators, we sometimes underestimate the power of our collective voice. I have found that policymakers will listen intently when a teacher speaks. We can amplify that effect by working together to demand the resources we need to properly educate every American child. We must marshal our political clout on behalf of all children.”
Iowa
Vicki Lynn Goldsmith is a teacher of English, Women’s Studies and Theories of Knowledge (grade 12) at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa. Goldsmith has taught for 40 years, 16 of them at Roosevelt which has 1,600 students.
“The media tell us we never need to be in pain and that we can escape through pills, food, drugs or entertainment,” Goldsmith says. “It is important that we teach young people how to sit through the discomfort necessary to feel the present moment fully and to stay with a disturbing new idea to examine its source. The pace of our lives, and the emphasis on efficiency and multitasking, discourage real grappling with issues. We can counteract the detachment caused by acceleration, violence and technology in our society by building into our curricula those exercises that strengthen community and allow us to know ourselves and others. We must connect to address such social issues as our fear of our own multiculturalism. If we want graduates to think of art, literature and history as ways to solve problems, we must examine what is worth knowing, doing, and becoming.”
Washington
Tamara Steen is an English and art teacher (grades 9-12) at Mabton Junior/Senior High School in Mabton, Washington. Steen has taught at this school of 398 students for 22 of her 23 years in the education profession.
“Love, when combined with discipline and high expectations, is a powerful thing,” Steen says. “In a school like mine—and likely any school--high standards and creativity will not by themselves produce the results I want. Students need to feel connected; some are so wounded by life they cannot begin to function academically until they realize a teacher actually cares about them personally. Sometimes we as teachers must even be willing to be surrogate parents. To the students whose lives we touch, we are all the teacher of a lifetime because making a difference in a single life means we help to change the world for the better. With this in mined, we teachers must envision success for our students so strongly that the vision becomes contagious and our students catch it and refuse to ever let it go.”
A panel of educators, representing 14 national education organizations, chose the finalists from the 2005 teachers of the year representing the U.S. states, territories, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, and will select the 2005 National Teacher of the Year. Recognition by President George W. Bush of the honoree will take place during the week of April 18, 2005.
The organizations represented on the National Selection Committee are: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, Association for Childhood Education International, Association of Teacher Educators, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Boards of Education, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, National Education Association, National Middle Schools Association, National School Boards Association, and National School Public Relations Association.
For a list of 2005 state teachers of the year, please visit our website at www.ccsso.org/ntoy.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site, www.scholastic.com.
