The Kenneth S. Goodman "In Defense of Good Teaching" Award
This award was established to honor educators who have stood up to laws, policies, and practices that are threatening to students and teachers. Previous winners have included:
Curtis Acosta is the quintessential teacher—committed to his students, dedicated to his discipline, and driven to excellence is all his work. The students enrolled in his classes are those who have largely been abandoned by the school as too difficult to educate; yet they have excelled in all aspects of their schooling. His commitment has been strongly tested in the past several years, during which time he and his colleagues in Raza Studies in TUSD have been singled out by the State Superintendent of Education for attack. The Superintendent promoted a law passed by the legislature that targeted TUSD’s Raza Studies program as promoting ethnic resentment and advocating the overthrow of the United States. His reading lists and his practice have been scrutinized by state-appointed auditors, and his district has been threatened with budget reductions if the program is not terminated, which could also mean the loss of his job. Through all of this, Curtis has been true to his principles and strong for his students. Although the Goodman Award has never recognized one of our current students, Curtis Acosta truly exemplifies what it means to teach in difficult times.
2008
George Schmidt
2007
Margaret-Mary Sulentic-Dowell was born and raised in Iowa. Although she grew up in the Midwest, she has fallen in love with the south, despite having lost all of her possessions and home in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She was hired by the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in 2002 to lead a literacy initiative as well as supervise over sixty (60) elementary sites. Her responsibility was to overhaul the district’s reading program and create a literacy model for the entire district. She provided professional development in literacy teaching, curriculum and instruction based on principles of child cognitive and linguistic development. The literacy program was balanced, holistic and comprehensive. The superintendent who recruited and hired her left in 2004 for a position in another state, and subsequently, the Board of Education filled the position with the former Deputy Superintendent of Finance for the district. The District moved toward a one-size-fits-all curriculum and when Margaret Mary objected, her job was threatened, and she faced termination charges. She continued her advocacy for best practice in the interests of children until she resigned her position in May 2006, when she accepted an assistant professorship in literacy education at Louisiana State University.
2006
The Downer 5
Elizabeth Jaeger, Lina Prairie, Thomas Prather, Eduardo Martinez and Michael McDonald, dubbed the Downer 5 for the Elementary School in Northern California where they taught together. After years of attempting to negotiate modifications to curriculum which was inappropriate for their students, they ultimately wrote a letter to their colleagues offering further assistance and stating that they would no longer comply with several instructional mandates. Within months, all were involuntarily transferred – two of them in mid-year. Quoting Susan Ohanian, “These teachers are taking a strong stand to assert their professionalism, which means doing what’s right for kids.”
2005
Ann Zimmerman is from Nashville, Tenn. She is a now-retired teacher who retired rather than teach the Language! middle school reading program. Herprincipal required that she use the program even though she found it to be inappropriate for high school students. She believed it to be insulting to her students and she knew that the "linguistic principles" on which it was based were just plain wrong.
2004
Salvador Gabaldon was a barrio kid from East Los Angeles. Due to many fortuitous events he was able to attend college and become an English teacher. Sal and his family moved to Tucson in 1981 where he earned a Master’s Degree from LRC in 1998. Sal has worked at Pueblo and Rincon High Schools and has been a leader in the Tucson Association for Bilingual Education. He is a prolific writer of letters and editorials to the local newspapers in opposition to Proposition 203 and has assisted parents and teachers to organize a legal strategy to defend parental rights concerning children’s language development and use.
2003
Susan Ohanian a longtime classroom teacher maintains a website at www.susanohanian.org which is required reading for staying current on the resistance movement to government-mandated standards and testing. Susan is author or co-author of 23 books, including One Size Fits Few and What Happened to Recess and Why are our Children Struggling in Kindergarten? Susan is a Senior Fellow at the Vermont Society for the Study of Education and a Fellow at the Education Policy Research Unit, Arizona State University. She is contributing editor at Vermont Commons: Voices of Independence and writes a monthly column in Substance, the education newspaper of the resistance. She was awarded the NCTE “George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language” in 2003 and the John Dewey Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Education of Young People in America.
2002
Joanne Yatvin was superintendent of a school district in Oregon when she was chosen to sit on the National Reading Panel. She was the only panel member with the integrity and courage to write a Minority report which alerted the public to the flaws in the Report. Joanne suffered both professional and financial loss due to her participation and visibility as a member of the Panel. Besides the Minority Report, Joanne has authored over 60 articles, 5 book chapters, and 3 books for teachers. She has also developed exemplary curricula and has held offices in national, state and local organizations. In 1985 Joanne was selected as Wisconsin's Elementary Principal of the Year, and in 1988 she received the Lois Gadd Nemec Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin School of Education.
2001
Kathy Mason received the first "In Defense of Good Teaching" award because she "stood up" in the face of incredible pressure to submit to district mandates. Her principal ordered her to use a scripted reading program and she refused. She was banished from her classroom to a dark warehouse to inventory books and a substitute teacher took over her classroom. Children and parents complained, but the district could not see their way to reinstate her. She left the district, but has kept hope alive by reading and analyzing her student’s' lifebooks, her personal lifebooks, reading children’s literature, and listening to tapes of poets. These sources of inspiration got her through the awful days in the warehouse and continue to sustain her as she continues her life's work.
Nomination Procedures
The Department of Teaching, Language and Sociocultural Studies (formerly Language, Reading and Culture and Teaching and Teacher Education) in the College of Education at the University of Arizona seeks nominations for an award to be given in honor of Kenneth S. Goodman. Dr. Goodman is recognized internationally as an advocate for teachers, political action and holistic education.
The award was established to honor professionals at any level who have "stood up" in an extraordinary way and who have set an example of well grounded, humanistic, holistic education.
Please review the following criteria and procedures. You are welcome to self-nominate or to nominate an educator whom you believe deserves recognition.
The award winner will be invited to attend a reception in his/her honor and to speak at a departmental Annual Conference often held in the Spring.
Criteria
The criteria for the award include:
A professional educator at any level who has "stood up" in an extraordinary way and who sets an example of well-grounded, humanistic, holistic education.
An educator who has experienced economic or social consequences as a result of "standing up."
Preferably an educator connected to literacy education.
Procedures
Procure the approval of the nominee since she/he may have to release materials from personal files to supply supporting information.
Send a letter of nomination (or self nomination) and the following documentation:
curriculum vitae/résumé and 3 names of references (include phone numbers, email and addresses).
Attach supporting evidence such as newspaper clippings, letters and memos, articles or position papers.
Send documentation to the committee chair at the address listed below. The nomination deadline for the 2012 award is December 15, 2011.
Professor Patricia L. Anders
College of Education
University of Arizona
1430 East Second Street
Tucson, AZ 85721
The Kenneth S. Goodman “In Defense of Good Teaching Award” is solely sponsored by contributions.
Donations are accepted year round in any amount.
Please make checks payable to:
University of Arizona Foundation
Mail to:
Professor Patricia L. Anders
University of Arizona
College of Education, Room 512
Language,Reading & Culture
P.O. Box 210069
Tucson, AZ 85721
Please contact Yvonne Gonzalez-Lewis if you have questions, 520-626-9387 or e-mail Professor Patricia L. Anders at
Previous award winners: