It’s that time of the year again. The Hillsborough Education Foundation has announced this year’s Teacher of the Year. Congratulations Cynthia Folsom, a math resource teacher at Palm River Elementary.
Increasingly these days it seems like teachers are referenced more as standardized-test scapegoats that need mentoring than as professionals counteracting societal challenges to teach our kids. So seeing teaching excellence rewarded is refreshing and welcome.
Having said that, however, it once again bears mentioning that the HEF needs to rethink its Teacher Of The Year procedure. It’s still one that lumps all teachers together. The template for good teaching is not the same for all teachers, K-12, although they all obviously put a premium on motivation, creativity and results. Anyone who has ever taught–or been taught–knows that.
Secondary teachers are subject specific–and impacted by FCAT subplots and adolescent rites of passage. But what they do is obviously built on a foundation–academic and social–that must be laid at the elementary levels. The teacher roles are complementary, not identical.
Consequently, the evaluative criteria can’t be the same when the focus, content and group dynamics are so different. Exceptional teachers at all levels–elementary, middle, high-school–should all be honored. One from each. Compare comparables. It’s only fair.