Bloomington teacher wins statewide award

Eric Mjolsnes is more than a normal teacher at a local Bloomington school.\nMjolsnes, head teacher for the upper elementary classroom at Bloomington Montessori School, was chosen as one of 10 teachers statewide selected annually to receive the Project E "Excellence in Education" Teacher Award. The award is sponsored by Project E, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1999 to promote major improvements in Indiana's K-12 schools.\nThe Christel DeHaan Family Foundation awards $10,000 to each winner -- $8,000 in prize money and $2,000 to be used at their schools. In addition to the monetary prize, Mjolsnes, along with other award recipients, will be recognized during a special halftime ceremony at the John R. Wooden Classic college basketball tournament at the Conseco Fieldhouse Dec. 6.\n"His curriculum is very unique," said BMS director Vicki Thevenow. "He gives (the children) freedom in the classroom to pursue . . . passion. He allows them to have an environment that lets them take risks and never feel foolish about failing, but to learn from whatever they try."\nA Minnesota native, Mjolsnes said he had originally planned to be a writer, but decided teaching was his true passion after traveling to Africa with the Peace Corps.\n"I was planning to write (professionally) and I found out that I was much more interested in spending time with my fellow men than a typewriter," he said.\nMjolsnes began teaching with the Peace Corps in Kenya and Libya. He has been teaching at BMS since 1972 and has been recognized by the American Montessori Society for his instructional innovations.\n"His influence is so profound on the children," Thevenow said. "(It's) beyond just teaching and academic instruction."\nIn the classroom, Mjolsnes puts an emphasis on teaching his students writing techniques, and allows them to choose the subjects they read about and encourages them to proofread their work.\n"I try to encourage children to do lots of writing and react to what they have created rather than leading them in a path of curriculum materials," he said. "We also use a system for giving them feedback so they're not told exactly where the errors are (in their writing), but what page (they are on) and what type (they are.) I'm convinced that this system gives the children a better outlook to find their own errors in writing."\nMjolsnes doesn't just emphasize academics in the classroom. Thevenow said he also focuses on teaching the whole child, including boosting self-confidence and self-esteem. She said Mjolsnes often has his students present research in front of the classroom.\n"Public school teachers who inherit his children in middle school are so pleased with the kinds of students that they are; they're prepared academically and otherwise," she said. \nMjolsnes emphasized how personal attention is key to his class's success. \n"I really do think that one of the important things for children is to feel listened to. We can get so caught up in exposing them to content that they really don't feel that their voice is being cultivated," Mjolsnes said. "There's a lot of power in motivating children by just listening to what they have to say and commenting on a respectful level. Just listening to them, encouraging them to develop their own ideas is a real powerful tool."\nMjolsnes was nominated for the award by teachers at BMS, but it was kept a secret. Mjolsnes said he was surprised with a presentation at the school Sept. 25. \n"I had no idea about the application," Mjolsnes said. "When I realized who was there, and then when I realized the magnitude of the award I was basically blown away."\nMjolsnes wasn't the only one surprised.\n"When they told me he won, I was almost speechless," said Thevenow. "(It's) wonderful. Private school teachers rarely get chosen. He has truly devoted his life to teaching. He is a very humble man. I was afraid he'd be shocked and he was."\n-- Contact staff writer Brittany Hite at bhite@indiana.edu.