Educator & Student Voices

At the 2016 Chocolate Inspiration gala, Inspired Teaching honored award winning author, educator, and activist Jonathan Kozol as the inaugural recipient of the Inspired Teaching Changemaker Award. A short video was presented in which Mr. Kozol reflected on his career and on the powerful role of the teacher as changemaker.

“Kids are inquisitive. They want to know. As teachers, it’s our job to guide them through their journey. The harder we push them within a positive, supportive environment, the harder students try.” Read more from Ms. Benita Nelson-Tutt. Now retired, Ms. Nelson-Tutt attended the very first Inspired Teaching Institute in 1996 and spent more than 30 years teaching in DC Public Schools.

“As a teacher, it’s important to engage all your students because you’re responsible for the class and for each student individually. That’s what you’re there for. Your role is to inspire students to find ways to achieve their own fulfillment and to recognize where they are in the sweep of humanity and human history.” Read more from Mr. Abdu’l-Karim Ewing-Boyd, an alum of the 2006 Inspired Teaching Institute and the IB Coordinator at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School.

“As a teacher, sometimes it’s difficult to consider the heavy responsibility you carry on your shoulders. Being a teacher isn’t just about teaching content – you’re also helping to form character and helping young people find themselves as individuals. What works for one student won’t necessarily work for everyone.” Read more from Mr. Oscar Ramirez, an alum of the 2003 Inspired Teaching Institute and a master educator with DC Public Schools.

Inspired Teaching is pleased to feature Amanda Huron, assistant professor of interdisciplinary social sciences at the University of the District of Columbia and a content expert for BLISS: Building Literacy in the Social Studies.

“Everyone’s voice mattered. This facilitation not only allowed me to share some of my thoughts, but also allowed me to learn from my peers. My mind was filled with new insights and information. This was the kind of mind I would need to succeed in college.” Read more from Zawadi Carroll, a Real World History student in 2014-15, who returned to the course this January to lead an interschool seminar for current Real World History students.

“For this reason, conducting an interview of Ms. Mitchell’s life experiences was incredibly valuable as it put a face to the Great Migration and helped me to understand and appreciate this event on a deeper, more personal level.” Read more from Real World History student Allison as she shares what it was like interviewing a senior Washingtonian about her past.

“Inspired Teachers are advocates for their students. They realize that every student is a unique individual with his or her own needs, ideas, passions, and preferences.” Read more from Mr. Jon Berg, a teacher at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School and a 2012 Inspired Teaching Fellow.

“My students now are thinking about history. They’re writing about history. They’re analyzing and applying content as opposed to only memorizing it.” Read more from Mr. Adam Evans, a social studies teacher at Ballou High School and an Inspired Teacher Leader.

Real World History hosted its second annual interschool seminar at Cardozo High School, welcoming students from School without Walls, Georgetown Day School, and LaSalle-Backus Education Campus to discuss the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates.