JACKSON, Wyo. — A Jackson Middle School teacher has been nominated by Teton County School District for a national award.
Gregory Poduska, a teacher at Jackson Hole Middle School, was nominated for the Patricia Behring Teacher of the Year award. The award is sponsored by Patricia Behring, widow of the late Kenneth E. Behring, who previously sponsored the National History Day National Contest for many years.
Each of the 58 National History Day affiliates may nominate one middle school teacher for this award. Poduska is the junior division nominee from Wyoming.
Every nominee for the $10,000 award is a teacher who demonstrates a commitment to engaging students in historical learning through innovative use of primary sources, implementation of active learning strategies to foster historical thinking skills, and participation in the National History Day Contest. All nominees will receive $500, each, as a result of their nominations.
“Teachers are among the greatest resources children have to develop the skills necessary to become critical thinkers,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “The nominees for the Behring Award have shown a dedication to teaching that goes beyond the classroom. I congratulate Mr. Poduska on his well-deserved nomination.”
Poduska has been teaching at JHMS since 1998.
“Middle schoolers are great. They challenge me in ways that keep me young, and I love being a part in helping them develop into the people they are already becoming,” Poduska says. “As a history teacher I feel it’s important to help students embrace the past, understand the present, and prepare ourselves to be part of the future.”
Patricia Behring sponsors this award in recognition of the pivotal role teachers play in the lives of students. The national winner will be selected by a committee of experienced teachers and historians, and will be announced on June 18, 2020, at the National History Day National Contest Awards Ceremony held at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Nominees’ work must clearly illustrate the development and use of creative teaching methods that interest students in history, and help them make exciting discoveries about the past.
