PETA Teacher Of The Year Runner-Up Is From Lincoln High School

YONKERS, NY — Lincoln High School teacher Aferdita Silverman has been named the second-place winner in the 2021 PETA National Teacher of the Year Contest.

The organization’s humane education division, known as TeachKind, is honoring Silverman for her efforts to “highlight animals’ experiences” in the global history class she teaches.

Silverman puts compassion for animals at the center of her classroom, including asking students to consider the impact that historical events—such as the Crusades, industrialization, and atomic bombings—may have had on animals, according to the judges. She was also singled out for examining new animal-friendly technology that could reduce carbon emissions.

“As students re-enter the classroom and enjoy interacting again with their peers, Aferdita Silverman helps them empathize with the animals throughout history who never got the chance to have a full life,” PETA Senior Director of Youth Programs Marta Holmberg said in a statement announcing the award. “TeachKind is honoring her for putting animals on the curriculum and inspiring young people to consider other perspectives.”

Hulmberg noted that Silverman encourages students to explore the intersection between animal rights and human rights, citing the deforestation in the Amazon, which threatens both animal life and indigenous humans as an example.

Silverman is also the faculty sponsor for her school’s arts and crafts club, where she teaches students how to make their favorite foods vegan. She was nominated for the national award by her daughters who are both students and active in lobbying for the ethical treatment of animals.

Silverman will receive a cruelty-free gift basket designed especially for teachers and a framed certificate.

The TeachKind motto reads, in part, “animals are not ours to abuse in any way.” The group works in opposition to what it refers to as “speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.”

More information about the organization can be found at TeachKind.org