Michael Schaffer
Central Campus
Des Moines, IA

"Make it real! Make it alive! Make it relevant! These are the deeply held beliefs that guide what I do in my classroom everyday. I try to bring the world to the classroom and take the kids to the world."

"Michael is distinguished from his peers, a scholar, adventurer and risk-taker. He not only brings the world into his classroom through his own international experiences, he also creates opportunities for his students to experience the world beyond the classroom."

The sound of African drums booming into the hallway lured the curious ninth-graders inside Michael Schaffer's classroom. Wearing a blue-and-ivory African dashiki shirt, he was eager to begin a unit on African civilizations with his history students. He blended tales from his personal travels -- which have spanned all the continents except Antarctica -- with artifacts he had collected into a 55-minute adventure for 22 eager students. He wants students to come away from his classes knowing the world is open to them. He said he's always thinking of ways to use artifacts, such as African spears, Chinese coal and pictures from his travels, to make history real. Mike's travel stories give history life say his students. His history students describe him as inspiring, effective and modest. They say his firsthand knowledge of foreign lands is impressive.

International Highlights:

• Created with two colleagues the Global Youth Institute, an annual 3-week workshop of 40 students from around the world who discuss international issues & write problem solving resolutions for an Assembly of Nations
• Lobbyist for the National Council for the Social Studies; secured funding for six programs in international education as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Under the CloseUp Foundation led a delegation to Japan to the study educational system and hosted Japanese educators who came to Iowa and Washington, D.C., to study the U.S. system
• Best Internet Project of the Year (multi-country project pertaining to South Africa's first free election), International Society for Technology Education, 1994
• Fellowship from the National Council for the Teaching of Asia to study in China
• Established a sister school relationships with Cherkasy (Ukraine) School No. 27
• Board Member of the Iowa Council for International Understanding, which hosts over 400 foreign visitors to Des Moines yearly; initiated two programs for the Council
  • World Food Prize Youth institute - 80 students from around the state present papers on food security to Norman Borlaug and World Food Prize winners and thus become eligible for a summer internship at one of eight research facilities around the world
  • Global Youth Leadership Conference - 200 foreign exchange students and 200 Iowa students gather in Des Moines annually to learn from one another and discuss global issues

Other Highlights:

• Rotary Club Teacher of the Year for Des Moines, 2003
• Teacher of the Year for the State of Iowa, Grinnell College, 2000 & 1985
• National Board Certified Teacher, 1999
• Mentor to an inner-city youth as part of the I Have a Dream Program, 1990-present
• Outstanding Teacher Award, University of Chicago, 1990
• Requires students to volunteer 20 hours to a candidate or party of their choice
• Developed programs for student visitors to the Smithsonian and National Geographic Museum
• Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, hiked in the Sahara Desert, and canoed in the Okavango Swamp