Kate Lear says it's an honor just to be nominated. But winning the $25,000.00 McGlothlin Award for Teacher Excellence would be a nice pay day.
Lear is one of three finalists for the prestigious award. Nominees come from Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The winner will be announced in April. That person receives the $25,000.00 award, $10,000.00 of which must be used for international travel.
Lear says she would like to travel to the Mediterranean with that money.
What got her to the finalist spot for the award, she believes, is her use of technology in the classroom. She says she recently mentored a young teacher via Skype.
And she says the learning should never stop for teachers, and explains her methods of teaching young children.
"Learning should really come from within them. As a teacher, that's really what you're looking for. You're more of a facilitator, a guide as opposed to somebody who's just imposing information on them," Lear says.
