Opinion - Our View

POSTED: Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009

Teacher wins honor, and honor for good teachers

Congratulations are in order for Jamie Yoos, honored last week as the best teacher in the state of Washington.

Yoos, who teaches chemistry and bicycle maintenance at Bellingham High School, was named State Teacher of the Year at a ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

The people who work with Yoos and the officials who choose him for the award say that Yoos uses innovative methods to teach students and holds them to the highest academic standards. Recent graduate Clare Rachor said, in a press release from the state, that no time in Yoos classroom was ever wasted. She said he brought passion and fervor to every class.

That's high praise from a student, praise that was matched by similar comments from principal Steve Clarke and other teachers.

John Hoffman, head of the high school's science department said Yoos pays careful attention to lesson design, supporting students and accountability. That sounds like our kind of teacher. Every child longs for a teacher who will help them learn in a way that fires their imagination. Every students performs better when they are held responsible for taking their learning seriously.

Yoos also is known to go beyond the classroom and find learning opportunities for himself, co-workers and students. Last school year, he used grant money to mentor co-workers on how to incorporate technology into the classroom. For his chemistry classes, Yoos creates video podcast lectures that students can watch at home if they need to, allowing for maximum lab time in class.

Yoos is the first Whatcom County teacher to win the Teacher of the Year honor. But he, and we, know that he is not the only deserving teacher in Whatcom County. Every day dozens of teachers in Bellingham and hundreds across the county use all of their intelligence, skill and compassion to give our children lessons they need to succeed and be happy in their lives.

We applaud Yoos for his outstanding work. And we applaud all teachers who take the profession seriously and give their best every day to our community's children.