Recipient: Elaine Rubinoff

Number of years teaching: 36

School: nominated for her teaching at Zareinu.  Presently she is a teacher trainer  for Jewish Day Schools and teaches at Taltiot, a college for teachers in Toronto. 

Subject:  Special needs

Inspiration/Motivation for being a Teacher of Excellence:

Elaine loves children and believes in them.  She is passionate about teaching because she believes that she has a tremendous impact on the lives of students.  She taught special education for many years and was inspired as she saw changes in the children as they began to believe in themselves.  She describes this as AWESOME.   Elaine loves to learn and she is always seeking out new information and new teaching strategies.  She is the author of “The Art of Teaching”. Now she is thrilled to influence students through the teachers she is training.

One of Elaine’s favourite quotes is:  “Every kid deserves a special education.”  She lives by this and makes sure that her students are taught life and love, not just curriculum.

The mother of one of Elaine’s students wrote of Elaine’s influence:

Elaine saw in my son untapped potential that I did not dare to recognize.  She gave me hope and strength and love to help me help my son to reach his potential.  She told me he would read.  He does. She worked with him with boundless energy, enthusiasm and inner strength.  She directed me to programs I was unaware of and inspired me to be the best mother I could be.  When I was desperately in need of help with my son’s education and my own spiritual void, Elaine Rubinoff gave me the strength, the encouragement and the inspiration to forge ahead.  My son’s achievements are a direct result of having a teacher by the name of Elaine Rubinoff.