You might ask, what makes a teacher great in the eyes of his/her students? You might also ask why students like myself would nominate a teacher for The Educator of the Year Award. Leonard Roy Frank, an American human rights activist and writer, once said,”Wise teachers create an environment that encourages students to teach themselves.”. I believe this quote is a credible one to the students who actually want to learn. To sum up, I will explain why I think my civics teacher, Mr. Walker, deserves this award.

One of the biggest words that describes Mr. Walker would be understanding. I remember the first day of civics class and hearing Mr. Walker explain to the class that truly forgetting about work is ok but not if you are forgetting all the time. What he told us that day  was a sound of relief, not only because I do truly forget about a lot of things but for me that was the first time a teacher had ever told the class that it's ok to forget sometimes. I almost couldn’t take what he said seriously because he actually understood that we are extremely involved in many other things.

I am also lucky to have Mr. Walker as my study hall teacher. On most Fridays, he gives students free time to talk or work. On other days in study hall, we can do any homework or studying we need to. This is a great advantage for students to get done any work they have.

Another word to describe Mr. Walker would be supportive. Despite being the lacrosse coach Mr. Walker still makes time to give extra help to students who need it. During class he gives great examples to help students better understand a topic or subject. He makes sure students understand that they don’t have to feel rushed during quizzes or tests  because he gives them extra time to finish. For extra help he gives us resources such as study guides, notes, web site activities, and slide shows. Mr. Walker is definitely on my list for favorite teachers I've ever had.

I hope you can see why I have picked Mr. Walker for my nomination for The Educator of the Year Award and that I strongly believe that Mr. Walker deserves this award because he’s not only a great teacher but he’s also a great role model to look up to.