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Person of the Year in Education
Mark Zuckerberg was just named Time magazine’s Person of the Year, for, among other things, "creating a new system of exchanging information; and for changing how we all live our lives." According to the rules of selection, the award goes to the individual or group of individuals who have had the biggest effect on the year's news, for better or worse. Educators and parents are probably equally divided on whether Facebook has a positive or negative impact on students. So we wondered, who Edutopia users might select as 2010’s Person of the Year in Education.
Zuckerberg would be a contender in this race too, given the growing impact of social media on education, for better and worse. On the other hand, Ben Franklin Middle School principal Tony Orsini might garner some votes for responding to a bully incident by writing a letter to parents and appearing on network tv to proclaim that parents should prevent middle school students from participating in social networks.
Another candidate is Waiting for "Superman” director Davis Guggenheim, who received kudos from media stars like Oprah for elevating the dialogue about education to front page news. He was also condemned by many educators for his black and white portrayal of complex issues like the roles of teacher's unions and charter schools. Anyone for Arnie Duncan, Michelle Rhee. or perhaps a local hero toiling in relative obscurity?
Share your nominations for Person of the Year in Education and why. If you agree with others, please vote with the thumbs up button next to the post you're supporting. We'll take the top five nominations (posts plus thumbs up) and run them as a poll as part of our end-of-year coverage.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
Comments (55)
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Person of the Year in Education
I nominate Diane Ravitch for "Person of the Year in Education". Her book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System" exposes all the misconceptions and fraud of the conventional wisdom regarding education reform.
Person of the Year
Doug Lemov, the author of "Teach Like A Champion". I am not frequently inspired by books about how to teach, they are often cold and not practice based. This book is just excellent and really could institute change.
It is time we recognize the
It is time we recognize the creativity and originality of the RIGHT BRAIN THINKERS. The artists who create the beauty around us and teach the music in the classroom and the painting and drawing in the studio.
Without a teacher who was creative Zuckerberg and Guggenheim would have never had the basic framework to begin with an artistic creation. They got where they are because at one time there was a teacher who inspired them.
The TEACHER OF THE YEAR ARE ALL THE PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS TEACHERS WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN THE CLASSROOMS TO KEEP THEIR JOBS AND KEEP THE ARTS ALIVE.
Put the money where the joy of learning is and where the research proves the brain gains more knowledge now and over time.
Every child deserves beauty in their life.
It's a Tie
I may be bending the rules here, but I think it's a two-way tie between Diane Ravitch (mentioned above) and Deborah Meier. At a time when much of the discussion about education reform has been reduced to sound bites and sarcasm, these two remind us of the value of genuine discourse. They tackle difficult topics and challenge each other's thinking on their shared blog, Bridging Differences (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/).
My Votes..
I'm with Suzie and can't just pick one. Here are my picks:
1) Sir Ken Robinson - For his creativity, examples of innovation and inspiration
2) Diane Ravitch - Many others above have eloquently made the case for her. Her wisdom and leadership is critical for educational change.
3) Linda Darling-Hammond - Her research on International Assessment and her constant dedication to changing education is inspiring.
He's not Superman, but...
I think the most influential person in education this year might have to be Davis Guggenheim. I know, that's not a popular nomination for the people who have been working hard in ed reform -- he oversimplified the solutions and made a hero out of Rhee! -- but he brought our message to the masses.
If you're a doctor, and you need a patient to change their bad habits: You get them to become self-aware. It can make a huge difference in solving their health problem. Waiting for Superman is not a complete picture of our nation's problems, but it is a film that got people aware of some of the issues and feel the urgency. And when people started talking, they got angry, they started to ask questions, they want to know more. That's huge. And if that doesn't sell the importance of this filmmaker's work, well then I just have this to say: Oprah. He moved Oprah and we all know what *she's* capable of!
Wow- no votes for Rhee?
Anyone who can get education outsiders like my Mother-in-law discussing education has my vote. Thank you Michelle Rhee for capturing unlikely hearts and bringing these topics mainstream.
http://bit.ly/eCsIEz
I'd pick Larry Rosenstock,
I'd pick Larry Rosenstock, CEO and founding principal of High Tech High in San Diego. While he was honored in September with the McGraw Prize for innovation in education, I’d nominate him for what he has accomplished in the last 10 years, growing HTH into a coalition of ten schools, including a School of Education and a residency program that helps other school to adopt HTH’s recipe for success. He says his mission is: “1. Educate the students we have to the best of our ability and, 2. Change the world." He’s doing well on both fronts.
I'd pick Jenny Buccos,
I'd pick Jenny Buccos, founder and director of ProjectExplorer.org. Jenny founded ProjectExplorer with the goal of nurturing the next generation of global citizens by encouraging awareness of the world beyond a student’s own community through the creation, production, and distribution of engaging and free multimedia educational materials. On the website, ProjectExplorer.org, teachers, students, and parents can access more than 250+ academically-focused videos, 1,200+ images, 1,500+ text-based documents, 150+ cross-curricular lesson plans, and additional audio materials and worksheets-- all for free. ProjectExplorer also does in-class presentations and is active in the community, increasing awareness of the world's cultures for young people who may not have had--or are not likely to have--a chance to travel.
I think ProjectExplorer.org’s
I think ProjectExplorer.org’s Jenny Buccos (mentioned above). She is an inspiring leader who has dedicated her life to revitalizing the landscape of education. Seeing how the web could make the world more accessible for students, she created the ProjectExplorer global educational series that centered around video as an educational tool before YouTube had even been invented.
Over the last five years, she’s transformed ProjectExplorer.org into a multi award-winning global education program. She empowers k-12 educators by providing the tools they need to successfully engage students. Remarkably - this is done at no cost to users! Making resources and programming available to all, for free, is the most important component of her mission.
She is an innovator and a visionary, and certainly one of the top leaders in transforming education.