I work in a school and I think the Teacher of the year award (staff vote) is nothing more than how much you brown nose the administrators and winning a popularity contest amongst peers. These awards should be based on merit, evaluations, observations, achievements, and overall results of students progress and performance. I’ve witnessed excellent teachers get passed over because they were not social butterflies or always brown nosing the administrators. This practice needs to be changed so that truly the best of the best is awarded. I’m not a teacher just an innocent supporter.