Washington State Teacher of the Year

Katie Brown is 2014 Washington State teacher of the year. I am not really sure how a teacher is nominated for such an award, or who the people are to decide such an honor, but Katie Brown certainly seems to be the right choice! I have looked at a few articles, and a few videos, showing her dedication to teaching, and her forward thinking approach to improving our nation’s school system.

I have a lot of questions.

*In the interview with Bill Gates you lay out a simple plan for teacher development and support within a school. This model seems simple and you explained its importance and effectiveness for educators. Why do you think there is resistance to this kind of teacher cooperation? Is it funding? Is it time?

*The collaboration model Katie Brown describes leaves no room for competition between teachers, we would all need to work together to help every teacher meet the needs of every student. Is this a barrier? Are some teachers resilient to this kind of respect sharing model? Is our educational status (or union status) a hurdle to overcome? In other words are educators with higher degree achievements hesitant to share their expertise with teachers of lower educational achievement? Are teachers with a more recognizable standing in the education community hesitant to learn from less experienced teachers?

*If an entire school participates in training together as a team does it improve inter-school relationships? Does that help break the hesitancy barriers to collaboration?

*Can you please talk about ELL strategies and how they translate into lessons for the entire school population?

*I notice that a lot of the ELL strategies I have seen in my brief research are very similar to, or correspond with, Montessori strategies and guideline. Is there a connection there?

*At what point does an ELL student benefit from standard classroom practice? If someone speaks no English how can they benefit from lecture in English?