article_snippet: Atwell, 63, began teaching in 1973 .
article_snippet: Atwell founded the Center for Teaching and Learning in 1990, which uses experimental teaching methods on students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
article_snippet: Stephen Ritz, 52, is an elementary school teacher in New York City's South Bronx area.
article_snippet: Ritz, who calls himself the 'Chief Eternal Optimist' of Bronx County, was originally a high school special education teacher but moved into urban gardening after the September 11 attacks.
highlights_snippet: The 63-year-old from Edgecomb, Maine, started teaching in 1973 .
  