MUSCATINE, Iowa — Muscatine teacher Andrea Stewart likes to push the envelope when it comes to educating her class, looking outside the male-dominated, Eurocentric status quo to educate her students.
If the Iowa Department of Education is any indicator of success, it looks like she’s broken through that envelope.
The Muscatine High School teacher was one of five finalists nominated for Iowa’s 2010 Teacher of the Year.
Sarah Brown Wessling of Johnston High School received the award Oct. 9, but Stewart said being part of the ceremony was still a memorable and rewarding event.
For the past four years, Stewart, has led her woman’s literature class in raising more than $10,000 for Family Resources Inc. domestic violence shelter.
She developed the woman’s literature class in 2004 because she wanted to inspire new generations to think critically about the way women are perceived and portrayed in modern society.
Putting students in touch with the talent and insight that women have invested in their literary work helps Stewart in her mission.
She places that same emphasis on educating students about other cultures, minorities and races and encourages students to evaluate their own preconceptions.
— Cynthia Beaudette
