Best Should Teach Lecture and Awards Ceremony on Sept. 6 to honor educators and teaching
At the 2018 Best Should Teach Lecture and Awards Ceremony, CU Boulder will celebrate excellence in education by recognizing five faculty members, three K-12 teachers in local school districts and many graduate student teachers with awards on Sept. 6.
This year’s ceremony will feature Michael Puett, the Water C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology at Harvard University. Puett will deliver his keynote talk, “Habits of the Mind: Global Approaches to Teaching and Learning.” In addition, invited guest speaker Polly McLean, associate professor of Media Studies and past Best Should Teach Gold Award winner, will lead an introduction honoring Lucile Buchanan, the first black woman to graduate from CU Boulder and lifelong teacher.
The event will honor four CU Boulder faculty members, three K-12 teachers from local school districts and lead graduate teachers in the Graduate Teacher Program with Best Should Teach Gold and Silver Awards.
Best Should Teach faculty award recipients include:
- Teresa Foley, Senior instructor of Integrative Physiology
- Jenny Knight, Associate professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
- Bethy Leonardi, Instructor of Education and co-founder of A Queer Endeavor
- Tamara Meneghini, Associate professor of Theatre and Dance
- Janet Tsai, Instructor of Engineering Plus
Teacher honorees from partner school districts include:
- Benito Espinoza, Adams 12 Five Star School District, North Glenn Middle School
- Chris Hespe, Boulder Valley School District, Aspen Creek K-8
- Rachel Hofmann, St Vrain Valley School District, Mead High School
The Best Should Teach awardees were selected for their embodiment of the beliefs, behaviors, and skills of exemplary teachers. This year, we also opened up the call for nominations for CU Boulder faculty from students from all colleges and schools across campus.
The late lifelong educator Lindley Stiles and his wife Marguerite Stiles established the Best Should Teach Initiative in 1996, and Stiles’ inspiring motto is inscribed on the School of Education Building:
“To those who come, I leave the flame! Hold it as high as you can reach. If a better world is your aim, all must agree: The Best Should Teach.”
