Quick Links

New Projects

My SET-BC Login

SET Events

Graham Cook - Teacher of the Year

July 2006

Graham Cook, a BC vision teacher for School Districts 59 and 60, has been selected as the Braille Challenge 2006 Teacher of the Year. This international award honors a teacher of visually impaired students who demonstrates outstanding skills and abilities in teaching braille to children in elementary, middle or high school, and in so doing, promotes braille literacy. The award is sponsored by the Braille Institute, a private non-profit organization whose mission is to eliminate blindness and severe sight loss as a barrier to a fulfilling life.

Graham was nominated for this award by his colleagues and students in British Columbia.

"Graham is a gifted teacher who is passionate about providing his students with rich learning experiences. He is proof that top quality instruction and support for students who are blind and visually impaired can occur in the most geographically remote regions of our continent. Graham is committed to ensuring that his students who read and write in braille have a literate environment that is equivalent to that of their sighted classmates at home, at school and in the community.

Graham has been in the forefront in embracing new braille technologies that enhance his students' access to information. He integrates instruction in braille literacy with instruction in the use of technology to meet his students’ expanded core curriculum goals. He develops guides and learning resource for his students, their transcribers and their regular class teachers, and shares these with his vision teacher colleagues."
Image: Graham attended the awards ceremony in Los Angeles in June 2006
 
In his own words….  "It is truly an amazing honour to receive the 2006 Braille Challenge Braille Teacher of the Year Award. I’m thrilled to receive such recognition. This honour is especially exciting as I live and work in a remote region in northern British Columbia in Canada, usually working 'below the radar'. Any sense of isolation I may have experienced in the past has been removed by winning this award."
Image:Dawson Creek, BC

You can find more information on Graham’s award and download samples of his teaching and technology resources here:

To find out more about the Braille Challenge Award, visit www.braillechallenge.org