Hi Boys and Girls,

Can you believe that it’s almost time for Iditarod XL to begin.  Are you getting ready?  Have you picked a musher to follow yet?  I’m just so excited, I hope you are too.

Every year the Iditarod Education Department picks a teacher to be the Teacher on the Trail.  Do you know what that is? It’s a special program that teachers can apply for.  The chosen teacher spends 3 1/2 weeks in Alaska doing presentations, visiting schools along the trail, and flying from checkpoint to checkpoint. The Teacher on the Trail then prepares lessons and reports from the trail.  I bet your teacher has used some of those lessons in your classroom.

What does a teacher have to do to become the Teacher? They first have to fill out an application.  The application takes months to complete.  I’ve looked at that application and it’s the biggest project I’ve ever seen. Then the selection committee selects 3 finalists who will go to Alaska the week before the race start. They do a presentation at the teachers workshop, have an interview with the selection committee, complete an assignment/project, go to the banquet, the start and the restart of the race. They meet many of the mushers and K9 athletes.  I hear the finalists give those K9 athletes oodles of belly rubs.  When the race is over, the selection committee will meet and select the next Teacher on the Trail.  What a great experience for those 3 teachers.

Every year I get the chance to talk with the three finalists. They are very special teachers and I’d like you to meet them too.

BETSY ANDERSON

Betsy is a 3rd grade teacher from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  She has been teaching in East Grand Rapids for 20 years.  Before that she taught in American schools in the Dominican Republic and Egypt. Betsy attended the 2008 Iditarod Summer Teacher Workshop. She has used that experience to teach the Iditarod in her classroom all year long. Her students are busy reading, writing, thinking, doing math, and using technology all because of the Iditarod.  Betsy also says she’s a “science nut” and works to make her lessons both “hands on” and “mind on”.

Betsy has set some goals for herself.   She said her personal goal as TOTT is “ to push myself beyond anything I have done before”.  She said she wants to meet and learn from all the people who work in all aspects of the race- the mushers, the volunteers, etc.    Her professional goal is to inspire other teachers to use the Iditarod in their classrooms in a meaningful way that leads to long term learning.  Those are great goals aren’t they.

Betsy is married and has three sons. She enjoys gardening, skiing, sailing, traveling, spending time with her family and her dog Addie.  And guess what? Addie also has a goal to be a “reading dog”.  Isn’t that cool.

LINDA FENTON

Linda is a 3rd grade teacher from a small town in Central Wisconsin.  She has been teaching the Iditarod in her classroom for the past 12 years.  Her students are busy reading books, doing research projects, choosing mushers, studying maps and many other activities.

Linda is excited about meeting the people who make the Iditarod possible.  She’s even more excited about meeting the dogs of the Iditarod.  I hope she’s able to meet some of my canine friends and give them some belly rubs.  They’ll really like that.

Linda is married and has three sons.  In the summer when school is out, she owns an Ice Cream Shop. Wow! How cool is that.  She also enjoys skiing, walking, running, knitting, reading, and swimming.

LEEANNE FOX

LeeAnne is a 5th grade teacher who teaches in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  LeeAnne says it’s because of the energy and enthusiasm of this years class and her past classes that enabled her to apply for TOTT.  In teaching the Iditarod to her classes, LeeAnne has found that everyone can make a connection to the race whether it be to a musher or to some aspect of the race.

This year her class is corresponding with a class at Nome Elementary.  Doesn’t that sound neat! I bet her class is learning a lot about the state of Alaska and the people living there.

LeeAnne has also set some goals for herself.  She said her personal goal for Teacher on the Trail  “is to showcase the power of teaching this amazing race”. She said “the race like life, is about having the courage to push yourself beyond your knowledge of your personal best. To push yourself beyond what you could have imagined possible.”  Her professional goal “is to stress the versatility and ease of the Iditarod Race as a teaching tool.  Anyone can teach the Iditarod, any level, any subject, there is something for everyone.”

LeeAnne lives in New Jersey with her husband, daughter, a cat and a dog.  She enjoys hiking, and backpacking.  She has run in the Chicago Marathon and has hiked Mt. Washington in the winter and three 14,000 feet mountains in Colorado.  Wow! I’m tired just thinking about all that hiking.

Wouldn’t you like to be in one of these teachers classes?  They really are special teachers.  I wish them all the best of luck.  Do you know a special teacher that would make a good Teacher on the Trail?  If so, ask them to apply and maybe next year, they’ll be a finalist.

Happy Trails

Gypsy