Photo by Adrian Alleyne\nElmwood High School teacher Chantelle Cotton receives the Prime Minister\u2019s Award for Teaching Excellence from MP Lawrence Toet.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\nCotton, a Grade 7 and 8 social studies and English teacher, was one of six Manitoba teachers to be honoured.<\/p>\n
“I’m humbly honoured, but I can’t teach by myself,” Cotton said.<\/p>\n
“It takes the administration to say yes to the projects, and for the students to buy in.”<\/p>\n
Cotton spent six years travelling around developing countries, and her travels inspired her to want to make a difference upon her return to Canada.<\/p>\n
“I knew I wanted to take those six years and turn that into something, and teaching was a way to do that,” she said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“It’s not a basic classroom. We talked about making projects bigger to get the whole school involved.”<\/p>\n
Fellow Grade 10 student Teosha Green said learning about human rights at such a young age has taught her a valuable lesson.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“It’s important to know as human beings what we can do.”<\/p>\n
Elmwood principal Mike Babb, who nominated Cotton for the award, said she is deserving of the recognition.<\/p>\n
“She’s a true leader in education for sustainable development,” he said. “Her classes do phenomenal work.”<\/p>\n
Cotton said she learned about her nomination last November and was pleasantly surprised to receive the letter confirming she won the award last month.<\/p>\n
“I’m generally the type of person who tells everyone everything, but this I didn’t,” Cotton said.<\/p>\n
“It’s easier to celebrate other people. Yes, my name is on the certificate, but it’s because of everyone here.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
facebook.com\/TheHeraldWpg
Twitter: @HeraldWPG<\/p>\n
adrian.alleyne@canstarnews.com<\/p>
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