2008 Writing Contest for COE Students and Faculty
Results and Entries
Everything you read, hear or see about education lately tends to focus on the doom and gloom and stuff we don’t like about our schools and education system. Perhaps it’s time to remind ourselves-and others-that there’s still a lot that is GOOD in education. EducationTimes,the College of Education’s magazine for alumni and friends,recently held a writing contest for COE faculty and students on “What’s Good in Education?“. The winning entry earned the student-author a $500 prize to put toward college-related expenses and will be published in the Summer 2008 edition of the magazine as a guest column. Therewere 27 total entries submitted. Below are links to the winning entry and selected others. Enjoy!
* WINNING ENTRY
A Day in the Life of a School
By LACY REDD, doctoral student in curriculum & instruction; principal of Newberry (Fla.) Elementary School
Writing contest winner Lacy Redd (left), a UF doctoral student, is shown with visitors in a classroom at Newberry (Fla.) Elementary School, where she serves as principal.
OTHER ENTRIES
Look in the eyes of a child who ‘gets it’.
By FLORENCE BASON
4ED, ProTeach elementary)
Pre-intern at Norton Elementary
Inclusion works. Just ask David.
By CAROLYN BELLOTTI
BAE ’08, MEd ’09, elementary education (children’s literature)
Classroom offers a safe haven
By ALYSSUM BEARD,
UF Curriculum & Instruction master’s student
First grade teacher, Blanton Elementary School, Pinellas County
PASSION! Yes, passion.
By KENYA PETRINA BRYANT
BAE ’98, Master’s student in Special Education
First and second grade teacher, Williams Elementary School in Gainesville
Changing obstacles into opportunities
By KATHY CHRISTENSEN
UF EDS student; 29-years as elementary school teacher
Good teachers create good students
By CAITLIN CLAUSE
3ED ProTeach (Elementary education-education technology)
Reaching out to one more child
By BRITTANY FRAZZETTO
4ED, elementary education
I make a difference.
By JOHN FULLER
ProTeach Senior; will seek MEd ’09 in education technology
Resources abound for teachers and students
By KATHERIN GARLAND
Doctoral candidate in English Education;
School Instructional Coach Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary F.A.M.E. Academy, Jacksonville
Students and the school’s extended family
By ANGELA VEAL GONZALEZ
MEd ’99; EDS student in Special Education with Project InSPIRE;
4th grade inclusion teacher, Talbot Elementary in Gainesville
That’s simple-it’s the children!
By RACHEL GROSS
4ED ProTeach (elementary education)
When children or their parents say ‘thank you’
By ELISABETH HARVIN
BAE ’08 in elementary education; MAE ’09 student in literacy;
Intern at Alachua Elementary School
We do it right, every single day.
By LAURIE CRAIG KITCHIE
7ED, curriculum and instruction
Computers enhance teaching, learning
By Melissa Livingston
Graduate student, UF Lastinger Center for Learning;
First grade teacher, Blanton Elementary, St. Petersburg
Sowing seeds of hope for the next generation
By ANGELA MILLER
7ED, reading education
Teachers make lessons come alive
By MINTA NAPIER
UF COE Adjunct Professor & intern supervisor
Inspiring kids to love learning
By AMBER DANAE PURSER
New BAE ’08 graduate (elementary education)
That one teacher who changes your life
By EMILY RABAUT
2ED, pre-education, elementary education
Paper finger rings with a marker smiley face
By EYVETTE RAPISARDA
EDS graduate student (curriculum and instruction) in UF’s TLSI (Teacher Leadership for School Improvement)program;
Third grade teacher of the gifted in Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Technology opens doors to global learning
By GRISELL SANTIAGO
Foreign language University Instructor,
P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School
New standards are right formula for science ed
By TAKUMI SATO
7ED, science education (secondary biology)
Critical Friends Groups impact teaching
By JANICE SCHOMBURG
EDS student in Teacher Leadership in School Improvement;
4th grade teacher, Rawlings Elementary in Pinellas Park
If you can read this, thank a teacher
By LAUREN SCHOMMER
7ED, school counseling and guidance
Teachers who learn while they teach
By MICHELLE SICK
MEd ’08 (May ProTeach graduate in elementary education/children’s literature)
The sure-fire power of positive thinking
By DANIELLE SMITH
BAE ’08 (May graduate)
Seeing through the fresh eyes of a child
By MICHAEL SULKOWSKI
MEd ’07; 2nd-year doctoral student in school psychology
Through these pools of empathy…
By CYNTHIA WORRALL-TIMMONS
8ED, curriculum and instruction (curriculum design)
