WARREN KRESS 2005 OUTSTANDING NORTH DAKOTA GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
Gene Aanenson teaches Global Education at Red River High School in Grand Forks. He is a member of the North Dakota Geography Alliance. He has been serving as president of the North Dakota Council for the Social Studies for the past seven years. He has also worked actively with the North Dakota Curriculum Initiative for the past three years. Gene co-wrote and implemented a grant to support a three year project to establish a Japanese Studies course at high schools in Grand Forks, North Dakota and the surrounding area, as well as develop an Internet exchange program for students of Grand Forks, ND and Awano, Japan. He has served as the coordinator of Grand Forks schools’ homestay exchange program with Awano. He also spent the 2001-2002 school year in Awano as part of his duties as program coordinator. Gene has also participated in Grand Forks Public Schools’ History grant to implement greater use of primary documents in the classroom. He also worked on the Grand Forks schools writing team for social studies standards. He has made frequent presentations to social studies methods classes and geography classes at the University of North Dakota in an effort to promote geography in the classroom. In discussing his philosophy of education, Aanenson wrote, “It is important that students learn to see relationships in the world around them. Events do not occur as isolated bits, but are part of the ‘Big Picture.’ Geography helps us find our place in that ‘Big Picture.’” The Warren Kress Outstanding North Dakota Geography Teacher Award was established by the North Dakota Geographic Aliance, with assistance from the Kress family, to remember Dr. Warren Kress who spent much his career teaching Geography at North Dakota State University. Professor Kress was an early North Dakota Geographic Alliance member and participated in several North Dakota Geographic Alliance activities. The 2004 Warren Kress Outstanding North Dakota Geography Teacher Award was presented to Marilyn Weiser who teaches in the Minot Public Schools.