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When Andrea Peterson landed her first teaching job, she faced the daunting task of creating a music
program with almost no money for equipment or supplies in a climate where standards-based learning
was the focus and music just provided a break for students and teachers.
For her drive and creativity in overcoming those challenges, she's been name national teacher of the
year.
Principal Waynes Kettler said he's worked with many outstanding teachers in his 22 years as an educator,
but Peterson is "just that one step above anybody I've ever worked with before."
Kettler and others at Monte Cristo Elementary School talk about the ways she has introduced the learning
from other classrooms into her music program and her creativity in working around things such as the
lack of money for new music.
When students were reading S.E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders in their regular classroom, Peterson
helped them write a 30-minute play with scenes from the book. Then they chose three Broadway tunes that
focused on race, equality and social justice, the themes of the book. Peterson composed two other sons
herself after classroom discussions about the play and the book.
The honor means a lot to residents of Granie Falls. It's inspiring to know that people from small towns
can even win national honors.
As national teacher of the year, Peterson will spend the next year outside classroom, as a national and
international spokeswoman for education.
Not surprisingly, she is a big believer in the value of arts education. She said it's essential for schools
to offer classes such as art or music and physical education because for some kids one of those subjects
is the only thing that motivates them to come back to school day after day.
1. The underlined word "daunting" in Paragraph 1 most probably means ___.
A. discouraging
B. interesting
C. creative
D. unbearable
2. When Peterson began her teaching career, _____.
A. music was focus of learning in most schools.
B. the environment was favorable to music teaching.
C. the school lacked teaching facilities for music.
D. financial support for music programs was unavailable.
3. What is the most important reason that Peterson won the award?
A. She concerned herself with current social problems.
B. She motivated students to learn music with her creativity.
C. She has taught music at the elementary school for 22 years.
D. She made great efforts to arouse students' interest in literature.
4. Which of the following is an example of Peterson's way of teaching music?
A. She wrote plays on themes of race, equality and social justice.
B. She made use of the contents of other classes in her teaching.
C. She organized classroom discussions of Broadway tunes.
D. She helped students compose songs by themselves.
5. In Peterson's opinion, ____.
A. art, music and PE classes are all important.
B. more subjects should be offered to students.
C. students should be motivated to attend art classes.
D. arts education is more important than other subjects.
6. It can be inferred from the text that ____.
A. Peterson's honor was a surprise for the local people.
B. Peterson's art classes attracted students back to school.
C. Peterson aroused the local residents' passion for music.
D. Peterson will change her profession next year.
