
Robert Brooke
- Jane Geske Award for Exceptional Contribution to Literacy in Nebraska 2004
- College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award 2007
- John E. Weaver Professor
As a Summer Institute facilitator for 25 years, Robert describes the experience of having a small group of people who are interested in what you have to write to meet with every day as breathtaking, saying, "It helped me manage my vision and purpose for what I was writing. I was able to explore topics that were important to me in my writing, as well as in my own teaching. So much of my classroom practices come from what I have learned over the years from passionate teachers I have encountered through the Project." When asked what qualities the Nebraska Writing Project promotes that makes effective and transformative teaching practices, Robert replied, "The best teaching comes out of collaboration. With a spirit of inquiry, dialogue, and personal efficacy, impassioned teachers really can transform their schools, their communities, and their state. My time in the Nebraska Writing Project has proven that when you care deeply about what you're teaching and it's part of a community effort, the work produced by teachers and students articulate the values that are important to yourself, the future, and for the next generation. It's exciting to see the transformation that occurs in classrooms when what we teach comes out of our passion, our ability to shape that passion into something that reaches other people, and a shared project that you develop together in your classroom."