Congratulations to
National Teaching Award Nominee
Jean Smiley
Homeschool , Ventura, California
Student Nomination Story
She has made such an impact. I am a home-schooled high school sophomore. I live in southern California and I have had struggles learning in some academic fields because of a mild case of dyslexia. Throughout my life I have been gifted by many great teachers, but one today stands out to me I would like to nominate today a teacher who is very close to me, a teacher who has helped me through some hard academic times and has always been on the sidelines for me, cheering me to never stop learning. This teacher is my grandmother. She, a private tutor in Ventura, California, uses her numerous learning strategies to teach English and math to the students of Ventura County. When I was in third grade I was having a hard time learning my multiplication facts. Patiently sitting by my side, she tried strategy after strategy to figure out a system that would work for me, until she finally found one: brightly colored index cards! Now we work weekly at English SAT prep, studying the finer rules of pronoun agreements and verb tenses. She hasn’t just shown this dedication to me, though. If you search through her lists of past students you can find those who have struggled at the most basic academic concepts when they were young, and who now reside in Ivy League schools and other major universities throughout the nation. She believes every single child can learn. Please consider Mrs. Jean M. Smiley as a potential honoree. She is more than worthy of it as she is to this day spending time with students; teaching them how to read, how to multiply, and how to spot adjective clauses. Thank you for sponsoring this award and for considering Grammy! Sincerely, Kolbe Weinkopf
Kolbe Weinkopf
To see more exceptional teacher nominees, visit The Honor Roll.