Honoring Gifted Teachers
Last night I met with the selection committee for the Enid Paskes Bloome Kindergarten Teacher Award. Enid Bloome was the mother of Dr. David Bloome, director of the Columbus Area Writing Project with OSU. When she passed away, Dave and his father established this fund to honor her memory. Mrs. Bloome was an outstanding kindergarten teacher who wrote 2 books during her career. Because she loved literature and she loved children, the award was created to recognize an examplary kindergarten teacher who, like Mrs. Bloome, instills a love of reading and writing in her students. The recipient will recieve funds to expand her classroom library.
As we read through the nominations, it was clear that each teacher was very deserving. Each obviously had a passion for literacy and was committed to the children they teach. The teacher we finally chose is a young teacher of ELL kindergarten students. Many of her students begin school with very little English speaking skills. Exposure to quality literature gives her students a common language which helps them learn English as well as the school culture. She “…gives her students the best gift of all…the gift of time. Her students have time to read, write, listen, and time to talk about their learning.”
At the end of the meeting, we discussed that many of these teachers probably didn’t even realize they had been nominated for this award. As a result they had not read the wonderful things their colleagues said about them. We decided it was important for them to know how valued they were so we will send each of them a letter detailing the nomination criteria with a copy of their wonderful nomination letter.
After everyone left, I started thinking about how many gifted teachers are out there. Do we do a good job of letting those excellent educators know how much we appreciate them? I cherish the cards from parents and students expressing their gratitude and keep them in a special place so that I can go back to them when I’ve had a bad day. I also know that sometimes I’m guilty of taking my own children’s teachers for granted. Last night’s meeting reminded me how important it is to take the time to thank those exemplary teachers who have touched my own children’s lives. As soon as I finish this post, I have a letter to write to write to one particular woman whose love for music has been a gift to my youngest daughter. I think she deserves to know how valued she is!
