Carnival of Education

As we approach the end of the year will we be inundated with end of the year awards, and of course not so recently we had the Nobel Prizes. Named after Alfred Nobel the inventor of TNT (Boom!). Well here at the 147th Carnival of Education we are going to have our own prizes. The Noble Prizes, these prizes will celebrate that noble avocation to which we have all taken the time to consider: Education. Education is defined by Miriam-Webster to be:

... 2 a: to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically especially by instruction b: to provide with information : inform ...

So to all of you that have made Education your passion even for only this week, Thank You, here is a prize.

The first Noble Prize goes to one of my favorite teachers growing up, Brinda Price. She was my ninth grade English teacher. As I remember her she was about 4 feet 10 inches, and she was tough as nails. You had better get your Romeo and Juliet packet in on time or else she wasn't going to take it. On the other hand, she loved us. She loved us with a mother's love. She wanted us to grow, and live, and enjoy life. She had a passion for her subject that was only exceeded by her passion for her students. She is one of my heroes, in the sense that I want to make my students feel the way I did in her class. I want my students to see me as a force of nature that cares about them and about math and mostly about their education. I desperately, forcefully, passionately want them to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically especially by my instruction.

So the first Noble Prize goes to Brinda Price of Columbus Alternative High School circa 1984. Thank you, and I am sure that the lack of prize money will not surprise you given your choice of profession.

The Noble Prizes are given to recognize the sacrifice that we all make to our charges, you are all working to make the future better, to make each child's lives better.

The Noble Prizes for Valiant Effort go to Henry Cate for Public schools - a Gordian Knot or a Sisyphean activity?, Mike Cruz for Losing Difficult Students - Blessing or Loss?, and Mrs. Bluebird for Playing Principal.

The Noble Prize for Growing and Becoming More Zen so that Your Students Can Have a Good Day goes to Siobhan Curious at small tasks.

The Noble Prize for Improving the Profession goes to Bill Ferriter for The PLC Mandate. . ..

The Noble Prize for Literature goes to Rebecca Wallace-Segall for Schools: Celebrate Teen Writers and Lessons from the Newest Generation of Writers (& Thinkers).

The Noble Prizes for Teaching Resource Coordination go to ms. teacher for Sharing!, Joel for 50 Classroom Management Tips I Have Learned This Month, and Ryan for Bridging the Research-Practice Gap.

The Noble Prize for Opening a Window into a Soul goes to IB a Math Teacher for The Book of Me.

The Noble Prize for Unschooling goes to Laureen for Bucket-Free.

The Noble Prizes for Elementary Education go to What It's Like on the Inside for The Sad State of Elementary Science, and Ryan for How Kindergarten Has Changed.

The Noble Prize for Anti-Telepathy goes to Mr. Pullen for Hey, Kids: Guess What I'm Thinking!.

The Noble Prizes for Public Policy go to Judy Aron for Tax Credits For Homeschoolers - Bad Idea!, EdWonk for EduDecision 2008: Obama's $18 Billion EduFix?, Joanne Jacobs for Defining dangerous down, and Dave Saba for Math: there is no substitute | American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence.

The Noble Prizes for Math go to Denise for Fraction models, and a card game, Tony Lucchese for A Letter to a Young Mathematician, and Matt (that's me!) for Lessons on Lessons While Cooking Mashed Potatoes.

The Noble Prize for Art goes to Scott Walker for Some sketches during a staff development session.

The Noble Prize for Thoughtful Homeschooling (is there any other kind?) goes to Dana at A workable solution for American education.

The Noble Prize for Film Advertising goes to Matthew K. Tabor for his highlighting of a Screening of 2 Million Minutes.

While the Noble Prizes for Film go to Larry Ferlazzo at Math Movies and More, and Adam for The Academic Schools.

The Noble Prizes for Humor go to mister teacher for Helpful or Harmful, Smellington G. Worthington III for Welcome, and Carol Richtsmeier for Lists, Parents & Paperwork.

The Noble Prize for Zoology goes to Ms. Cornelius for Wanted: One case of mouse-sized Depends Undergarments.

The Noble Prizes for NYC Education go to Norm Scott for UFT Candlelight Vigil Snuffed, Woodlass for Sacrificing the learning years — Why?, and NYC Educator for his accounting of 7.2 million dollars in What A Bargain!.

The Noble Prize for Statistics goes to Edwonkette at Lies, Damned Lies, and NAEP Exemptions.

The Noble Prize for Networking goes to Pat for Networking is Important for All Teachers.

The Noble Prize for Civics goes to Matt Johnston for Not Every Education Problem Begins and Ends at NCLB.

Then Noble Prize for Homework goes to michele lestage for Too Homework Much Help Can Result In Failure.

The Noble Prize for Identifying Hypocrisy goes to Right on the Left Coast for Teachers in My District Say Teachers Don't Care About Students.

The Noble Prize for Foreign Language goes to Maria Fernandez for Free Spanish online lessons on mp3.

The Noble Prize for British Education goes to oldandrew for The Two Discipline Systems.

The 148th Carnival of Education will be at So You Want to Teach. Entries are due at 5pm Central on December 4th.

Reading the submissions was a great honor. I learned a lot, and that is what is all about. Thanks to all our contributors for their thoughtfulness and their giving hearts.