[July 25, 2011] Kirtland teacher Rachel Colsman honored Tweet KIRTLAND, Jul 25, 2011 (The Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Rachel Colsman drives 160 miles to be at work every day. Colsman, who won the 2011 izzit.org Teacher of the Year Award, goes above and beyond in many other ways to teach economics, government and history at Kirtland Central High School. This year, she received kudos for her work "When we got to know her, we were so glad that we chose her," said izzit.org marketing coordinator Robert Lechner, who announced the award in a press release Tuesday. Colsman was one of five teachers in the nation deemed a "Teacher of the Year" by izzit.org, a nonprofit organization that provides classrooms with free educational videos and discussion prompts that encourage critical thinking among students. As part of the award, Colsman received an all-expense paid weekend trip and $1,000 in cash. The cash "is going back into my classroom for some very much needed supplies. It all will be reinvested," said Colsman, who is spending the summer at home with her own children. She will return to Kirtland Central this year for her seventh year of teaching. Colsman incorporates izzit.org DVDs and discussion topics to enhance her lessons, especially those on democracy and freedom. Her focus on individual rights earned particular recognition from izzit.org because she used one of the videos provided by the company to look at "equality of opportunity and equality of outcome," she said. In the lesson, she used references to Kurt Vonnegut, Supreme Court cases, the Bill of Rights and current events. "It was really cool because the kids went home and talked about it to their parents," said Colsman. "I had parents saying, Wow.'" The material is reviewed by about 100 students, separated into four of Colsman's government classes. Though she was not sure that the students would comprehend the information at first, they absorbed it with gusto. "I had a lot of conversations occurring, even weeks after," Colsman said. Jenny Kane: [email protected] To see more of The Daily Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.daily-times.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]