Arizona Educational Foundation’s teacher of the year says critical thinking skills are key

PHOENIX — The Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF) has named its 2025 Arizona Teacher of the Year, the state’s highest award for public school educators.

This year, Boulder Creek High School history teacher Emmett Burnton earned the honor and as a result is the 2025 nominee for the National Teacher of the Year program.

Burnton is in his ninth year of teaching AP World History and U.S. History in Anthem.

The award also comes after he received the 2024 Deer Valley Education Foundation Teacher of the Year, which prompted him to push to the state level.

“Around almost a year ago at this time, I was checking my email like crazy waiting to hear the response,” Burnton said.

Teacher of the year focusing on critical thinking skills

Burnton’s goal is to instill critical thinking skills in students and make sure the learning experience reaches all students in the classroom.

“You have the lowest of the low who can get reached and the upper echelon who can look out for themselves. But what about everyone in between? What do they become?” Burnton said.

Burnton himself was not a star student when he was in school.

“He went from suspensions, fighting and being labeled as academically troubled to now helping the next generation channel their energy into a positive medium,” Burnton said about his school days.

“The fact that’s in my classroom and I get to give the kids at 16 what I never had is the greatest thing about teaching and my job.”

On critical thinking skills, Burnton says he takes an open discussion approach to the classroom and presents students with challenging, historical texts.

More specifically, texts that deal with philosophical and political issues that prompt conversation among students.

“These are the texts that were important enough to shape the foundations of modern democracy and our founding fathers, so why aren’t we still using them?” Burnton said.

He believes students should be able to ask questions about topics like free will and develop their own views.

An approach of good education

In the current political climate, schools are the target of both critics and advocates who argue certain approaches to education are – or are not – fit for teaching.

A key example of that is DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s a framework that aims to promote participation and representation from all people regardless of their background.

DEI has also been heavily criticized by local politicians, including Arizona’s Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.

“When I took office, I began demolishing any program or initiative in this department that was related to ideologies such as Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Critical Race Theory and excessive Social-Emotional Learning,” Horne said in 2023.

Burnton offers a different view.

“When does that start in a classroom? Isn’t education inclusive of everybody to begin with? So, to me, a policy doesn’t start or end in one election cycle and get transformed in another,” Burnton said. “If it’s good education, it’s good education.”

Burnton adds he doesn’t believe he can label anything he sees in teaching as DEI.

As for the support teachers are in need of right now, he gives a shoutout to parents for helping push schools to improve instead of taking their kids elsewhere.

But he also says schools need more community involvement.

“With DEI or labels, moving beyond that and instead getting into ‘Who are my teachers, what do I know about them and what is actually happening in the classroom?’” Burnton said. “The deeper we keep that sense of reality I think the better off everyone is.”

More teacher of the year recognition coming?

Burnton isn’t done yet – he’s in the running to be the National Teacher of the Year overall.

He’s in the process of writing essays and meeting other requirements of the contest.

“Every night since, I’ve been up until about midnight working on the essays and then I go back and wake up at 4 a.m. to grade essays and teach kids for the rest of the week,” Burnton said.

National Teacher of the Year results are expected to be narrowed down to the top five in coming months and the winner will be announced in April or May next year.