I think everyone can point out a teacher that got them excited about a subject in a way that no other teacher could. For me, and many of my classmates, that was Mr. Whalen, our 9th grade European history teacher. He screamed and ranted, drawing battles on the whiteboard with such force that he sometimes went through several markers in one class. Somehow he got us to memorize every country on the world map and much, much more – and like it. Here’s your chance to nominate your “Mr. Whalen:”
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is seeking nominations for the annual Montana History Teacher of the Year Award.
The Montana winner will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be in the running for the National History Teacher of the Year award to be selected this fall. His or her school library will receive a core archive of history books and materials.
The History Teacher of the Year Award is designed to promote and celebrate the teaching of American history in classrooms across the United States. It honors one outstanding teacher of American history from each state and U.S. territory and the Department of Defense schools. This year, only elementary teachers are eligible for nomination.
The nomination deadline is April 15, 2009. For more information, contact John Gallagher, state coordinator for the award, at 406-586-8465 or [email protected].
The selection of the state winner is based upon several criteria, including: experience in teaching American history for at least three years; a deep career commitment to teaching American history; evidence of creativity and imagination in the classroom; and close attention to documents, artifacts, historic sites, and the other primary materials of history.