Reader and teaching expert, John Tapscott, wrote the following pointed comment about individualised teaching awards:
I believe teaching is a co-operative, collegiate, collaborative pursuit to varying degrees. The very idea of singling out a teacher for some sort of specious award is an insult to every other teacher. The whole idea is so much crap.
It didn’t take long before another example came to light to further raise questions about the merit of such awards:
What a difference a year makes.
Erica DePalo, 33, won the Essex County, N.J. Teacher of the Year award in 2011. Last Friday, she was arrested and accused of having a sexual relationship with one of her 15-year-old honors English students, according to CBS New York.
Many of the students that the station spoke with were blindsided by the allegations.
“I was kind of shocked,” Arnold Ajondo said. ”I was a little surprised. She was really close with the students and we all liked her. She was always there after school if you ever needed any help.”
DePalo was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Star Ledger.
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Tags: Education, Erica DePalo charged sexual assualt, Erica DePalo Essex County, Erica DePalo former teacher of the year, Erica Depalo Sex Scandal, Erica DePalo sexual relationship with one of her 15-year-old students, Erica DePalo Teacher, N.J. Teacher of the Year award in 2011, News, teacher of the year arrested, Teacher Of The Year sex Scandal
Topical Teaching 
March 15, 2013 at 4:00 am |
Completely agree. Those rewards are just a load of pish. Good teachers really don’t need to be made to feel like film-stars.
March 19, 2013 at 10:03 am |
Thanks for the comment and reblog Jason.