Owatonna Educator Named MN History Teacher of the Year
Owatonna Middle School teacher Scott Noet is the 2019 Minnesota History Teacher of the Year. The honor comes from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Noet has been a social studies teacher for 7th and 8th-grade students in Owatonna for the last 22 years.
In a press release from the school district, Noet addresses his passion for teaching and what he likes best about it, "Its difficult to pick only one thing, but because I believe in doing history, when a student internalizes an event, concept or various perspectives about the past and then creates something that mixes the content of the class with their own viewpoint or interpretation of that history, you see creativity, growth and pride shine thought the students as they share with the class."
Noet was a finalist for Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2017 and was recognized by the National Education Association Foundation as an Educator of Excellence. He received his bachelor's of science in history degree at the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse and master of science in education degree from Southwest State.
The National History Teacher of the Year award will be presented on October 2 in New York City. The honor has been awarded since 2004. The press release states, "The History Teacher of Year highlights the crucial importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teacher from elementary school through high school."
In other news, the school district continues to gather information from the public following the defeat of a bond proposal for a new high school. The free summer lunch program continues.