Subscribe, Unsubscribe Share this page

		Past Extra Credits June 7 All issues

The Following article, excerpted below, appeared in the Washington Post (7/13/06):

"Last April, he [Jason Kamras] became the District's first National Teacher of the Year…As the nation's premier pedagogue, he visited more than 40 states and two continents to encourage teachers to work beyond inequalities in urban public schools…."

"By June 1 this year, at event No. 130, his words routinely brought people to tears. He even inspired retired teachers to return to the classroom…."

"This fall, Kamras returns to his classroom with a redefined purpose, a new magic trick and a maxim that resonates with youths and adults alike: Even a teacher never stops learning… Kamras started teaching at Sousa in 1996. He came as a member of Teach for America, a program placing college graduates in schools in low-income communities for two years…."

"At Sousa, Kamras successfully lobbied to double the time students spent in math class each week. Afterward, the number of children rated as having "below basic" levels on the Stanford 9 math exams was halved, from 80 percent to 40 percent…."

"The more he shared about his teaching, Kamras said, the more members of his audience would share about themselves. And the more he learned…."

"'Like many teachers, I had thought NCLB was an attack on public education,' Kamras said. 'Now I have a much more positive view, because it's forcing everyone to pay attention to the achievement of children who'd been ignored.'"

For the complete article, please visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/07/12/AR2006071200768.html