Since 2001, the Elgin Heinz Award has been bestowed on 41 teachers in 23 states, as well as in Guam and Japan.
The Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Awards
A Program of EngageAsia
Build Community
The Elgin Heinz Award builds community between and among award recipients and leaders in the fields of teaching about Japan and Japanese language. Past winners have collaborated on presentations and mentored teachers newer to the profession.
Recognize Leadership
All Elgin Heinz Award recipients are leaders in the field and have impact not only locally, but also regionally and nationally through engagement with professional organizations. They are leaders with great impact.
Honor Great Teaching
Elgin Heinz Award winners are great teachers who have transformed the lives of countless students and fostered in them an interest in Japan and other parts of the world. They embody the best practices in the field of education.
Impact the Future
Elgin Heinz Teachers help shape the worldview of young people. Through helping the next generation learn about Japan and Japanese language and culture, these teachers are impacting the future.
Deepen U.S.-Japan Relations
U.S.-Japan relations rest on a bedrock of friendships between Americans and Japanese. By developing ties and deepening understanding between thousands of Americans and Japanese, Elgin Heinz teachers are on the forefront of building the bonds fundamental to the relationship.
Foster Peace
Through promoting deep cultural knowledge, Elgin Heinz teachers enhance empathy and help young people to see the world through the eyes of others, which is a critical component of peace building globally.
The Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Awards Follows Edwin O. Reischauer’s Views on the Critical Importance of Pre-College Education:
“The child entering first grade this year will not be a member of the voting public for well over a decade. He is not likely to have gotten well started on his career for two decades or more. His most important period as a leader or a molder of opinion, if he ever achieves such levels of prominence, lies roughly three to six decades ahead. During the intervening years he will no doubt still be learning, but his basic attitudes are likely to have been strongly conditioned, if not completely shaped, by the perceptions and prejudices he is absorbing now.”
— Edwin O. Reischauer
Toward the Twenty-first Century: Education for a Changing World. New York: Random House, 1974
