It is an oft-repeated phrase among math teachers: Bring a pencil to class.
Chris Burke’s students at Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School in Dubuque use all manner of writing instruments, but he, himself, is a fan of the pen.
With a pencil, you can erase your mistakes and pretend they never happened, Burke said. The ink of a pen is a testament to where you have been.
“If we just try to erase the mistakes as though they never happened, then how do you learn?” he asks.
Burke, 35, an 11-year teaching veteran, was named the 2019 Iowa Teacher of the Year during an event Thursday at the school.
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