ACTEM ACHIEVE Award Winner 2015
-Formerly the Maine Technology Teacher of the Year Award-
Shana's ACHIEVE Film - Student Voice and Choice
What is the ACHIEVE Award? Award Citation, 2015
ACTEM 2015 Conference Booklet (page 7)
Award Presentation Video
Text of Shana's remarks
Thank you I am honored and humbled to receive this award tonight. I'm a third generation teacher – my grandmother was a teacher for many years, my mother an elementary school librarian, and now me – so teaching in many ways comes naturally.
I would like to thank my family – who came tonight and those family members near and far. All my friends who came and those in far flung places around the world. I want to thank all my colleagues who have helped and supported me over the years.
I want to thank my students – without them none of this would happen. They are very familiar with the statement that what we are about to try will be either an amazing success or an epic failure. We usually come out with an amazing success.
One group of people I would not be here today without would be my teachers. I went to Richmond (Maine) High School – a small school in southern or central Maine, depending on your geographic viewpoint – I'm a product of Marcia Buker and Richmond Jr/Sr High School. I know that oftentimes small schools get a bad rap and sometimes all that people associate with Richmond is soccer. I am here to say that without those teachers, grades K-12, taught me to be inquisitive, taught me the meaning of play, and taught me the meaning of hard work. Without them I would not be here today. I certainly stand on their shoulders – the shoulders of giants. I stand next to giants that are my colleagues – at Orono, all of you here in this room and all across Maine – without my colleagues/friends I would not be in the running for this award let alone receiving it.
Today I was discussing this award with my students and they said that I simply do what is right. I listen to them. I include them in their education. I ask their opinion and that is the important thing. They said that I was deserving and I should be a model and I gulped and said “thank you.” I don't think that we say thank you enough to our students.
Finally, I like to talk about is that while we are always constant advocates for our students – we are the loud voice shouting in their support, in their defense, for them and for their needs. That we need to be advocates for ourselves as well – for the teaching profession. I believe teachers and technologists need to be the ones that shout out we are doing important work, we are the ones that know what happens in our classrooms, we are the ones who have the needed input we are the ones who need to be at the table.
I challenge all of us here – myself, you, friends, family, parents, grandparents, fellow educators to be the voice for ourselves to shout out – we have important knowledge and we know what happens in our classrooms and we know what is right for our students and let's send that message out through technology. Let's show it through our loud voice in Augusta, our voice in Washington DC.
Thank you very much.
-Formerly the Maine Technology Teacher of the Year Award-
Shana's ACHIEVE Film - Student Voice and Choice
What is the ACHIEVE Award? Award Citation, 2015
ACTEM 2015 Conference Booklet (page 7)
Award Presentation Video
Text of Shana's remarks
Thank you I am honored and humbled to receive this award tonight. I'm a third generation teacher – my grandmother was a teacher for many years, my mother an elementary school librarian, and now me – so teaching in many ways comes naturally.
I would like to thank my family – who came tonight and those family members near and far. All my friends who came and those in far flung places around the world. I want to thank all my colleagues who have helped and supported me over the years.
I want to thank my students – without them none of this would happen. They are very familiar with the statement that what we are about to try will be either an amazing success or an epic failure. We usually come out with an amazing success.
One group of people I would not be here today without would be my teachers. I went to Richmond (Maine) High School – a small school in southern or central Maine, depending on your geographic viewpoint – I'm a product of Marcia Buker and Richmond Jr/Sr High School. I know that oftentimes small schools get a bad rap and sometimes all that people associate with Richmond is soccer. I am here to say that without those teachers, grades K-12, taught me to be inquisitive, taught me the meaning of play, and taught me the meaning of hard work. Without them I would not be here today. I certainly stand on their shoulders – the shoulders of giants. I stand next to giants that are my colleagues – at Orono, all of you here in this room and all across Maine – without my colleagues/friends I would not be in the running for this award let alone receiving it.
Today I was discussing this award with my students and they said that I simply do what is right. I listen to them. I include them in their education. I ask their opinion and that is the important thing. They said that I was deserving and I should be a model and I gulped and said “thank you.” I don't think that we say thank you enough to our students.
Finally, I like to talk about is that while we are always constant advocates for our students – we are the loud voice shouting in their support, in their defense, for them and for their needs. That we need to be advocates for ourselves as well – for the teaching profession. I believe teachers and technologists need to be the ones that shout out we are doing important work, we are the ones that know what happens in our classrooms, we are the ones who have the needed input we are the ones who need to be at the table.
I challenge all of us here – myself, you, friends, family, parents, grandparents, fellow educators to be the voice for ourselves to shout out – we have important knowledge and we know what happens in our classrooms and we know what is right for our students and let's send that message out through technology. Let's show it through our loud voice in Augusta, our voice in Washington DC.
Thank you very much.