Prime Minister's award for challenge teacher

She encourages her students to ask big questions. Now Surrey Schools teacher Tiffany Poirier’s work has received a big recognition â- the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

Poirier was in Ottawa this week to join 16 other educators from across Canada in receiving the Certificate of Excellence award from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The awards recognize outstanding elementary and secondary school teachers in all disciplines who instill in their students a love of learning and, through the innovative use of information and communications technologies, help Canadian students to meet the challenges of a 21st Century society and economy.

(Prime Minister Stephen Harper presents Surrey Schools teacher Tiffany Poirier with her Certificate of Excellence)

“It was a mind-boggling honour,” says Poirier. “I love this work, I love teaching. Every day is rewarding. This is just icing on the cake.”

Based at Prince Charles Elementary, Poirier teaches gifted and highly able students in grades 3-7 from 27 schools across north Surrey that are taking part in the district’s challenge program.

“Visit Poirier’s class and you will witness the next generation’s philosophers and critical thinkers engage in respectful debates on some of life’s biggest questions”, the award’s website notes.

“She’s passionate about her role as a facilitator of learning, empowering students to explore their own big questions, interests and passions through meaningful dialogue and in-depth projects.

“Their inquiry-based, hands-on learning environment is a colourful hub of creativity.”

Poirier says she treats each child with respect and she believes in giving children time, space and strategies to explore big questions. She wants to raise awareness of children’s capacity for inquiry.

“My goal is to empower students as creative, critical thinkers and caring leaders,” she says.

“I work with a huge range of abilities. Every child has a question and every child has something to offer the world.”

The award notes a colleague said working with Poirier was exciting, adding “sparks fly as educational theory and classical philosophy ignite with innovative practice, all facilitated by the rich technological environment we teachers are inheriting from our students”.

And Poirier is quick to acknowledge the role teachers and students have played in helping develop her award-winning approach.

“I share this honour with all of my colleagues and all my own teachers who inspired me and all of my students,” she says.