Obama honors science teachers

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama honored a Raleigh science teacher among dozens of educators welcomed to the White House on Wednesday for their work in the classroom.

Carol Wooten, who teaches fifth-graders at Hunter Elementary School in Raleigh, was one of more than 80 teachers honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Wooten and the other recipients shook the president's hand, and she sat behind Vice President Joe Biden at the news conference.

"It was an absolutely phenomenal experience," Wooten said.

Wooten won for her work in challenging students' misconceptions and getting them excited about science. She encourages pupils to write queries, data and conclusions in scientific notebooks.

"We don't use textbooks, because you can't find the cure for cancer in a textbook," Wooten said. "The students are the scientists in my classroom."

Obama announced the expansion of the national "Educate to Innovate" public-private partnership to provide additional training for 100,000 current teachers and educate 10,000 new teachers in the next five years. Several private businesses, including Texas Instruments and Dell, are contributing to the program.

Also honored at the event Wednesday was Laura Lynne J. Bottomley, director of K-12 Engineering Outreach Programs and NCSU's Women in Engineering Program. She joined about two dozen recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.

Bottomley helped initiate science curriculum changes throughout Wake County, and she provides hands-on engineering mentoring to about 25,000 students a year in her programs.