A Deadline and an Honorary Entry for the Best. Teacher. EVER. Contest.

As a reminder to submit your nominations for our Best. Teacher. EVER! contest, we thought we’d share a nomination from ITVS Managing Editor Brooke Shelby Biggs. As a staff member, Brooke can’t compete for the Kindle or other cool prizes, but we thought her description of her kindergarten teacher, Ms. Sharon Janulaw, was worth sharing. Don’t forget to send us YOUR nominations – last day to submit is tomorrow, Friday May 26!

The teacher I would nominate is Sharon Janulaw, who was my kindergarten teacher at Santa Margarita Elementary School in Marin County, California in 1975. Not only was Mrs. Janulaw innovative, but she treated us like actual people with the ability to think for ourselves and discover worthy things under our own power.

Ms. Sharon Janulaw

Science lessons were conducted under the quaking aspens in the playground behind the classroom, where silkworms bred. We were in the midst of demographic change in the area post-Vietnam and an influx of immigrants from Korea, among them some of our classmates who spoke little to no English. In response, Mrs. Janulaw taught us the Korean alphabet and numbers as a special lesson every week, which also infused us with a sense of openness to other cultures.
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Tags: Awards, best teacher ever, education, ITVS, schools, teachers

Whatever It Takes Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“The Week’s Guide to What’s Worth Watching: In Whatever It Takes, Edward Tom gave up an executive post at Saks Fifth Avenue for a far-lower-paying job as principal of a small public high school in the South Bronx. Cameras follow him through his first year as he struggles to deal with its challenges, epitomized by a failing 14-year-old girl whose mother is a recovering crack addict.”
- The Week Magazine

What’s a child’s education worth? For one visionary, rookie principal, it’s priceless. At the Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics, an innovative public high school in NYC’s South Bronx, principal Edward Tom leads a dedicated group of teachers, students, and parents in their biggest gamble yet. Within a community infamous for hardship, can this brand new school live up to its promise and inspire new stories of achievement and excellence?

Check out a preview of tonight’s broadcast below:

Whatever It Takes premieres tonight, Tuesday, March 30 at 10:00 on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings). A co-production of CAAM.

Tags: African American, Asian American, education, New York City, schools, youth

Watch CHINESE SCHOOL Tomorrow on Link TV

More than 350 million children are enrolled in schools across the vast nation of China. Over the course of a year, CHINESE SCHOOL looks at a small school in the rural town of Anhui where a group of families, teachers and children reveal stories of hardship, joy and success.

Check out the clip below:

CHINESE SCHOOL premieres tomorrow night, November 24, on Link TV at 7:30 PM (check local listings). This film received ITVS International funding.

Tags: China, education, Link TV, schools