Does this kind of thing help those awards committees?
As Mayor of the City of Burbank I am writing this letter in support of one of Burbank’s middle school teachers, Ms. Rebecca Mieliwocki, who was named the 2012 California Teacher of the Year, and is one of the four finalists nationwide for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year award. On behalf of the City of Burbank, I could not be more proud that this community is being represented by such an amazing educator who has been described as “remarkably gifted and innovative,” and an “inspiration to other teachers as well as her students, who are learning and succeeding due to her tremendous classroom skill.” Ms. Mieliwocki has been teaching for more than 14 years, including nine years at Luther Burbank Middle School, my Alma Mater, where she teaches general education and Gifted and Talented Education classes. She is faculty chair and serves on the school leadership team. Her lessons are infused with a wide array of technical tools that, as her principal says, “brings lessons to life.” It is professionals like Ms. Mieliwocki, with her classroom skills combined with her dedication to the youth of this community, that make Burbank such an amazing place in which to live, work and play. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to formally recognize Ms. Mielwocki’s amazing achievement and wish her the best of luck and gratitude as she proudly represents Burbank across this great nation. Mayor Jess Talamantes
City of Burbank
Notice there’s nothing here about inspiring a love for learning, or that inquisitive spark of interest in the field, or any critical thinking ability about words and ideas?
Instead, we hear about “technical tools” and “leadership team” and “faculty chair.” And her professional CV with all the fixins’.
Of course.
Boy, we’ve sure come a long way from Mrs. Simmons up at Muir, or Miss Johnson. The only technical tools they needed were a couple of books and a dictionary.
I’ve often been suspicious of outstanding teaching awards. While it’s great that teachers get recognition, and a few extra bucks, I’ve found these awards to be, more often than not, a way for administrators to assuage their guilty conscience about how they treat teachers in general. So, you can be a callous administrative putz but once a year give out an award that will let the the teachers eat cake.
You have no idea the outrage many parents felt when this nomination was announced.
I’d love to hear.
Yes, it’s always the mediocrities and the suckups who get these awards. Burbank has many good and soulful teachers who we never hear about.
The best English teachers I ever had in Burbank were the ones who taught a sense of attitude and approach. Not “lessons.” So I’m sure this woman just mangles these books.
And words cannot express how much I hate Smartboards and group technology self-study crap (read, ‘let’s cut back on teachers’) and “presentations” of any kind.
This is all interesting too– the first thing I thought when I saw this “letter” of Talamantes’ was, “why?”
Like, why did anyone think it was necessary to keep pumping her up in this way? There must be some problems with the nomination somewhere…
I love her competition, too. Three Deep-South states and an Air Force base. Do they teach irony in the eighth-grade?
The concerns go far beyond what you have mentioned in your comment. I’d be glad to share personally what many parents/students have complained about if you’d like to contact me. My understanding in researching this award, is that it is primarily driven by the individual teacher nominated. The original nomination is via peers (not administration), but from there it is up to the teacher to show how deserving they are via essays they write, videos they submit and of course letters. The direct observation of this teacher in action by the award committee was minimal. Especially considering that this is a teacher who sobbed in front of her students how much she hated teaching them and that they were ruining her sex life.
Thanks Burbank Mom for sharing some of the thoughts of Burbank Parents at various schools.
Whether “ego driven”, “vanity specials” or “Admin Bestowed” ; some of these Awards create angst for the rest of the School Community.
Many choose to be “hard” on Parents for their “lack-of-training” to be a parent; some parents ( & grandparents) wonder what “stability” is necessarily garnered in the 5 or so years after high school by teachers.
Common Sense & Good Judgement need to fit into the curriculum, don’t they?