California Teacher of the Year nominated
A math teacher in San Diego County was selected to represent California in the National Teacher of the Year competition, the state Department of Education announced Wednesday.
Alex Kajitani, whose use of music in the classroom has earned him the moniker “the rappin’ mathematician,” teaches at Mission Middle School in Escondido and was one of five teachers nominated for California Teachers of the Year last week.
“On any given day, I am weaving lessons about the math the students are learning with issues important to them, such as advertising, the Internet and popular music,” Kajitani wrote on the application he submitted earlier this year. “Never will a student leave my class thinking that they will not use the information we have discussed.”
The winner of the national program will be selected next spring by a panel from the Council of Chief State School Officers.
--Corina Knoll
