Awarded for teaching excellence

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This article was published 16/11/2011 (5067 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An Elmwood teacher has been recognized for helping make a difference in the lives of her students.

Chantelle Cotton, a teacher at Elmwood High School, was presented with a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Elmwood-Transcona MP Lawrence Toet last week.

The award, which includes a certificate of achievement and a $1,000 cash prize, was presented to 58 teachers across Canada.

Cotton, a Grade 7 and 8 social studies and English teacher, was one of six Manitoba teachers to be honoured.

“I’m humbly honoured, but I can’t teach by myself,” Cotton said.

“It takes the administration to say yes to the projects, and for the students to buy in.”

Cotton spent six years travelling around developing countries, and her travels inspired her to want to make a difference upon her return to Canada.

“I knew I wanted to take those six years and turn that into something, and teaching was a way to do that,” she said.

Cotton has been successful in inspiring students to take part in humanitarian projects, such as raising $10,000 to build a school in Sierra Leone.

“She changed our perspective on life, and we started thinking about things we never did before,” said Soleil Gallego, a Grade 10 student who had Cotton as a teacher in Grade 7.

“It’s not a basic classroom. We talked about making projects bigger to get the whole school involved.”

Fellow Grade 10 student Teosha Green said learning about human rights at such a young age has taught her a valuable lesson.

“I  think it’s important at a young age to learn about world issues,” said Green, who is a member of her school’s student council and its human rights committee with Gallego.

“It’s important to know as human beings what we can do.”

Elmwood principal Mike Babb, who nominated Cotton for the award, said she is deserving of the recognition.

“She’s a true leader in education for sustainable development,” he said. “Her classes do phenomenal work.”

Cotton said she learned about her nomination last November and was pleasantly surprised to receive the letter confirming she won the award last month.

“I’m generally the type of person who tells everyone everything, but this I didn’t,” Cotton said.

“It’s easier to celebrate other people. Yes, my name is on the certificate, but it’s because of everyone here.”

Alan Binne, a teacher at College Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau in Transcona, was one of the other Manitoba recipients of the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence.

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adrian.alleyne@canstarnews.com