The Robert Brownlee Award is given each year to a RAFT member who has demonstrated a commitment to his or her own professional growth in the area of hands on teaching.
Lynne Dickerson, a teacher at St. Mary’s School and St. Mary's parishioner, was honored with the Robert Brownlee Award at RAFT’s annual “Showcase of Creativity” fundraiser event. Dickerson, a long-time RAFT member, is currently in her 19th year of teaching music and 9th year in middle school science. Dickerson considers herself fortunate in her choice of subjects she teaches, “I am lucky because both music and science are hands on, experiential subjects –they’re active, engaging and fun, both for the students and me!”
RAFT, a non-profit organization since 1994, is committed to transforming teaching through the use of engaging hands on educational activities that inspire the joy and discovery of learning. Dickerson stated “One of the most important ways RAFT has helped me is with our school science fair. RAFT bulk materials and Activity Kits have been instrumental in the success of our efforts.”
With the national adoption of the Common Core State Standards, RAFT believes hands on teaching, which has been used over the years by some of the best teachers, will expand in use by more teachers.
Dickerson concurs saying, “In the future, teachers will serve as guides – focused on connecting the core curriculum to the real world, and helping to develop in our students the skills of critical thinking and problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and creativity. Teachers have the best job in the world, supporting the development of our future leaders and watching them grow. Through hands-on learning, RAFT projects reinforce all of these skills.”
About RAFT Resource Area For Teaching’s (RAFT) main focus is to inspire, engage and educate all children through the power of hands-on teaching. RAFTis doing this today with over 7,000 educators who teach inside and outside the classroom. RAFTs products (Activity Kits & Idea Sheets), services (professional development and mentoring) and low-cost teaching supplies enrich and improve the education of over 600,000 Bay Area students each year. RAFT products and services are aligned with Common Core State Standards.