American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Convention 2022 AWARDS
2022 Blind Educator of the Year
Presented by Robin House
Introduction by Robin House: I'm proud to announce the recipient of the Blind Educator Award. I wanted to let you know that this is a significant award, and it has been announced for many years. It began in the Blind Educators Division, and it continues to recognize blind educators for their hard work, dedication, and commitment in the difficult and challenging field of education.
I want to thank the Blind Educator of the Year Committee and those who served on it. This year's committee included Melissa Riccobono, Dr. Edward Bell, Cayte Mendez, Adelmo Vigil, and Vernon Humphreys. Thank you for serving on the committee.
I want to share a quote from Albert Einstein. He said that the supreme art of the teacher is to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. This award is given annually if a suitable candidate is recognized and selected by the committee. This year we have a person who has gone above and beyond in the field of education. I want to share a little bit about his background. It is said about him that the students that he works with light up when they see him and talk to him. He is always available to put the students' needs first and let them share who they are and become all that they can be. He encourages them to do that by listening, by sharing his experiences, by teaching them. He's there always to go above and beyond to meet their needs. He has compassion and love for his students, a trait that I think he shares with many of the previous recipients of this award.
I also want to share his credentials. He holds a bachelors degree in history and social studies. He also holds a graduate degree in orientation and mobility and teacher of the visually impaired. Currently he is the associate director of Transition and Residential Programs at the Washington State School for the Blind.
They have some wonderful educators there, right?
Corey is very active in the NFB in the state of Washington. He serves on their state scholarship committee as the chairperson. He also is president of the Clark County Chapter. I am presenting him with a plaque and a check for $1,000. Let me read the inscription on the plaque. It says:
Blind Educator of the Year
National Federation of the Blind
presented to Corey Grandstaff.
In recognition of outstanding accomplishments to the teaching profession.
You enhance the present.
You inspire your colleagues.
You build the future.
July 7, 2022.
Congratulations, Corey.
COREY GRANDSTAFF: I wasn't even this nervous when I went skydiving . . . But here we go.
I'd first like to say that it's an honor to receive this award. I'd be remiss if I did not thank a few individuals in my life that have made it possible for me to sit here with you all today. First I'd like to thank my state president, Marci Carpenter, who nominated me for this award. I'm honored to call Marci a friend and a mentor in my life. So thank you, Marci!
I currently work at the Washington State School for the Blind. Basically I'm the vice president during the evening time. I want to thank my wife, Arabia; there are many nights when I'm supposed to be home for dinner or we're supposed to go on a date or we're sitting down to watch our favorite TV show, and I get that call that says I need to come back to work. Or I need to stay late to handle a situation. And she handles that all in stride, supporting me to the end, listening when I come home and share those stories about the struggles my students are having or the successes they've had, and even volunteering for my students. They love when she comes and does their hair and nails for prom! Without Arabia, I would not be standing here today.
I want to share some stories about what make me who I am. I grew up on a horse-breeding farm in Ohio. Let me tell you, the conversations we had around the dinner table were interesting. Honestly, they were embarrassing if you had friends over, especially when you invited your first girlfriend over for dinner!
I have to thank both my brothers, my sister, and my parents for teaching me that "can't" was not a word in my home. I was never told I could not do something. In fact, when I said I couldn't do something, the response I got was, "You can. You just have to find a way to do it."
So I say the same thing to my students on a daily basis. "Can't" cannot be a word that is part of their vocabulary. The world already expects that, as blind people, we can't do things.
I'm a proud alum of the Ohio State School for the Blind, and I want to talk about some teachers that influenced me as an educator. Dan was one of my teachers and he taught me that blind people can do anything we want to do. There was nothing we couldn't do, nothing that could hold us back. Another teacher I had, Jeff, was one of my sighted teachers. He always taught me to take it to the limit and always give it 110 percent.
In tenth grade I had the opportunity to attend public high school part time. During my junior year, I decided to take AP English. I can't even tell you the teacher's name, but I remember the conversation we had. We sat down one day because I was getting an F in her class, the first F of my life. And she told me, "You can go back to regular English and you can get an A, or you can sit in my class. You're going to have to work very hard, and you may get a C." What I took away from her was that she held me to the same high expectations as my peers. It was the first time in my life I had a sighted teacher in a public school who held me to those same high expectations she held for her other students.
I have one more story. It's kind of negative, but I want to share it. In graduate school, I had a teacher, we'll call him Dennis, who taught me a valuable lesson. Right before I took his class, we had a meeting. We sat down and he said these exact words to me, "Corey, no matter how well you do in my class, no matter how great of a teacher you prove to be, I'm the one who approves student teaching. I will never approve you to student teach."
What he didn't know is that when you tell us we can't do something, you just triple motivate us! We're very determined individuals.
So while this was a negative experience, it taught me to encourage my students in whatever they want to do. I believe that blind people can do anything. I hope when I get on my plane tomorrow, my pilot walks into the cockpit with their white cane tapping.
So, again, this is an honor. What even makes it more of an honor is that some of my coworkers and some of my former and current students are in the audience today. And I've even had the honor of hiring some of those former students to work for me. That was a goal of mine when I took this job. Blind people need to be employed, and I have the ability to hire, in the privileged position that I'm in.
So, educators, do not allow your students to say they can't. Encourage them in whatever their future goal is. Hold your students to high expectations, no matter what. Push them to give 110 percent, and don't hold them back.
I'd like to thank you, National Federation of the Blind, for this great honor and for the ability to continue the life that I want to live.