New Jersey school teacher sparks kids' imaginations with stamps

The on-line edition of the Sentinel in East New Brunswick, N.J. ran an article today about fifth-grade school teacher, Stephen Feldman. Feldman has been recognized by the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) President’s Environmental Youth Award program for his creative teaching methods... one of which involves STAMPS!

While he teaches a variety of subjects; he uses stamps, coins and postcards in his social studies classes as a way of learning about geography.

Feldman advertised his program in Linn’s and asked for donations. He got close to a million stamps –– 60 packages, boxes, and envelopes full of them.

Feldman said the students have shown such zeal in their stamp collecting that they have begun having their parents drive them to the nearest stamp store in Trenton to add to their growing collections.

“I know it’s touched them, they give their collection to a younger brother or sister who I then have as a student,” Feldman said. He said students even use their lunch time to compare stamp collections. The article points out that his teaching methods has spurred even the most unlikely of students to take interest in his classes.

“Some of the kids who have difficulties in learning are the ones who like it the most,” Feldman said. “It catches their imaginations.”

For the entire story, click here.