SESP alumna Rebekah (Wrobbel) Stathakis, a Spanish teacher at Butler Junior High School in Oak Brook, was chosen from more than 75,000 nominees to receive the 2006 Disney Teacher Award. This national award celebrates her creativity, innovative teaching methods and ability to inspire students. A secondary teaching major, Stathakis received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy in 2002."In my 10 years of administrative experience, I can honestly say that I have not met or worked with a more creative teacher than Mrs. Stathakis," wrote Edward Condon, principal of Butler Junior High School, in a letter to Disney. "I have been blessed to work with many outstanding educators, but Mrs. Stathakis' classes are truly special." As one of only 44 Disney Teacher Honorees, Stathakis receives $10,000 from Disney and a trip to the Disneyland Resort in California. Disney Teacher Honorees are selected by their peers - representatives of leading educational associations from across the United States and former Disney Teacher Honorees.
"I love being a teacher. It is very rewarding to watch students truly learning and understanding the material. I love it when you can almost see the lightbulb go on in students' heads and the accompanying smiles on their faces," says Stathakis.
Stathakis's classroom emphasizes creativity. "In seventh grade, we study indirect object pronouns. I presented a short lesson using a song and mnemonic device. Then, I had the students write sentences that include indirect objects pronouns. Once students had spent about five minutes writing their sentences, I put them in groups and gave them digital cameras," explained Stathakis. "A student photographer took pictures of the other students acting out their sentences. That night, I put all the pictures together into a slideshow. We dissected the sentences, and since students could see the sentences, they really understood the different components of the sentence."
The purpose of the Disney award is to improve the lives of children and to salute dedicated teachers, according to Terry Wick, vice president of Disney Worldwide Outreach. In October Disney will fly Stathakis and her principal to a six-day professional development institute in Florida for refining innovative teaching approaches by sharing ideas and learn how to engage other teachers to build an effective collaborative teaching culture at their school. Once they return, they will work with experts from the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston to design a schoolwide plan for making teaching more effective.
"We hope communities across the country will join us in thanking all their great teachers this week during Teacher Appreciation Week," says Wick.
Last Modified: 8/14/09