BEST Teacher: Doug London, Alexander Dawson School

Boulder County Gold — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:00:23 +0000

Winner

Doug London, Alexander Dawson School www.dawsonschool.org 10455 Dawson Drive, Lafayette 303.665.6679

Doug London, Alexander Dawson School

Doug London is the consummate teacher: in the classroom, where English is his subject; on the soccer field, where he coaches boys and girls teams to victory (the Denver Post just named him Coach of the Year for leading the girls soccer team to the state finals for Class 3A); and as Dean of Students, a role in which he counsels kids who may have reached a crisis in their lives. “I think what makes teaching high school so interesting,” he says, “is that you get students to ask better and better questions – about themselves, the fiction they are reading and interacting with, and ultimately the world they are moving into. With better questions they become better at consuming, and defining their life experiences.” In English class he gets the juniors and seniors he teaches to examine themes that challenge assumptions they’ve had – and to look at them in their own lives. He has them do a lot of practice writing to develop confidence in their skills. “There are a lot of chances to write and get feedback on their writing in a small school like Dawson.” In his spare time London likes to ski and bike and – no surprise – to coach boys and girls school or club soccer teams. “I’ve enjoyed my 32-year career as a teacher and hope I may have helped some kids make better choices in their lives,” he says.

Runner Up

Brenda Taylor, Centennial Middle School www.bvsd.org 2205 Norwood Ave., Boulder 303.443.3760

Boulder County Gold » Boulder County Gold – BEST Teacher: Doug London, Alexander Dawson School

BEST Teacher: Doug London, Alexander Dawson School