Meet The Smiling Teacher

I guess the first question I should answer for you is about how I decided
to name my website 'The Smiling Teacher'. I gave Tyler, a fourth-grade boy,
some book order forms. When his mother asked him from where he got
the forms he said, "from smiley face." She then asked, "Who is smiley
face?" His reply was, "You know...(he couldn't remember my name)
that teacher who smiles all the time." At the time when this happened,
I had been thinking and thinking and thinking about a name for my
website that I was planning. A few days after Tyler's mother told me
about his name for me, it hit me that this was the perfect name for a
website.

Thanks, Tyler!!!

      I have been teaching for 20 years. I taught remedial reading and math
     in grades 3, 4, and 5 for one year. I then taught 3rd grade for 10 years.
            Next, I taught 2nd grade for four years. On Christmas Eve 2000, I had a stroke.
         I wasn't expected to live, but God had other plans for me. I could no longer
               handle the daily stress of the regular classroom, but I just couldn't give up
teaching. A friend suggested I take classes to get my ESOL
             endorsement. After 15 years at the school where my sons had attended,
I transferred to another school in the same county and began teaching
ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes which I have
been doing for five years.
I have a B.S., M.S., and Ed.S. in Early Childhood Education as well as
ESOL certification. I was chosen to be listed in Who's
Who Among America's Teachers for 2005. I was also chosen as Teacher of
the Year for Northside Elementary School. Teaching ESOL students is
the joy of my life. I have Hispanic students. Two years ago, I had one Korean
       student. I learn so much from them.

I have been married for 36 years. My husband works for Norfolk
    Southern Railway. We have two sons. I have one brother who is two years
   younger than I am and one sister who is twelve years younger. We only
     have boys in our families. I have four nephews and my husband has two.
My husband's nephew who is married has twin sons. (Hey! We need
some girls around here.)  My father has a twin sister, they were
     born on Christmas Eve, and there were two sets of twins in their family.
My husband's mother had a twin sister, and there were two sets of twins
in their family. Sooo...will there be other twins when the other boys
                                           marry and have children?

I love going to the beach on vacation. The sound of the ocean is so
      soothing. I love walking on the beach to relax. My dream for the future is
            owning a home at the beach. Summer is my favorite season. Every time I go
       to the beach, I always have to order coconut shrimp and key lime pie!!!
If a restaurant has those two things, that's my idea of a fabulous place
to eat! I collect gingerbread men things and cookie stamps. I also like
penguins. Isn't it strange that I like Winter types of things, but Summer
is my favorite season ....not Winter. I love listening to classical pop
music by Nova Era http://novaeramusic.com . Working on
the computer is a passion of mine. My family has to take a
number to get computer time.