Tips From The Teacher Of The Year Tuesday, March 1, 2005 Tips From The Teacher Of The Year (NAPSA)—“AI] students deserve an excellent education.” That’s the motto of the National Teacher of the Year, Jason Kamras. A teacher since 1996, he has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton and a master’s from Harvard. The National Teacher of the (OS gp Set that, when my students leave my class at the end of the year, they view mathematics as a powerful tool for understanding, explaining and shaping the world in which theylive.” Kamrasadds, there are several Year is presented by ING, a global financial institution offering banking, insurance and asset management to more then 60 mil- lion private, corporate and institutional clients. The program is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and is sponsored by Scholastic Inc. The program focuses public attention on teaching excellence andis the oldest and most prestigious awards program for teachers. A committee of representatives from 14 national education organizations choose the National Teacher of the Year from among the state Teachers of the Year. These are selected on the basis of nominations by students, teach- ers, principals and schooldistrict administers. This year’s winner is noted for the unique wayshe devised to help his students. For one thing, he got the principal at his middle school to double the instruction time allotted for math so teachers can delve more deeply into each concept. In addition, the school redesigned the curriculum to emphasize the increasing use of technology, meeting all learning styles and putting instruction into a real-world context. learning must be relevant to children’s lives. It is important to me National Teacher of the Year, Jason Kamras, says all students deserve an excellent education. Kamras also co-founded the EXPOSE Program. It exposes students to the cultural, environmental, governmental and historical riches of the area around their school through a series of carefully selected field trips to the museums, parks, waterways, community service organizations, government agencies and historic sites in the region. At the same time, the students study digital photography and develop autobiographical photo-essays displayed throughout the city, in an effort to expose the larger community to the complexity and richness of the student’s own lives. “The reward in teaching,” Kamras says, “is the knowledge that I have contributed to the improvement of my community steps parents can take to help their own children learn. These can include: Encourage a love of learning. Show kids you and other adults learn thingsall the time, too. Read news items aloud or point out interesting discoveries described in the news. Show how these things relate to schoolwork in his- tory, science and math. Show how learning helps every day. Have your children help you add up the register tape from the grocery, adjust measurements in a recipe or figure the tip in a restaurant. Hold home poetry readings. Have each memberof the family read a poem aloud. Then discuss its meaning and the emotionsit evokes. Praise your youngsters. Look for situations in which your children do a good job, display a talent or demonstrate a positive charactertrait. Effort does count. Try to provide a time and a quiet, well-lit place to study. Keep it stocked with paper and pencils. Keep these tips in mind and and my nation. My ultimate goal is to engender within my students you may be better able to keep will persist beyond their days in my classroom. learning. To learn more, visit www. an intrinsic love for learning that “T also believe firmly that your youngsters on the road to cesso.org/ntoy or www.ing.com/us. --- PHOTOS --- File: 20190731-145155-20190731-145152-65539.pdf.jpg --- FILES --- File: 20190731-145152-65539.pdf