Educator of the Year
Mr. John O’Kneski



I you were to describe your ideal teacher right now, what would be some of the characteristics you would want? Things like a sense of humor, intelligence, kindness, entertaining, and not afraid to speak their thoughts are all things that on my list. Most teachers only have a few of these characteristics, but this year I found one who had them all. The teacher is Mr. John O’Kneski. He is my freshman civics teacher at the Delaware Military Academy. I don’t think that I have ever paid attention in class every day the whole time until his class. Every day is a new energizing lesson, and I can guarantee that you will learn something new in his class. I feel like Mr. O is very capable and deserving of the title Educator of the Year.

My first class of my high school career happened to be civics with Mr. O; where I had no idea what I was in for. Coming into high school I was really nervous and scared because it was a new environment, and I did not know what to expect. I sat there at my desk with my heart beating twice the normal speed, and then the bell rang. Mr. O came in and yelled “attention on deck” stretching the “on” for about 5 seconds which made about everyone laugh. At that very moment I knew he was not your ordinary teacher and that it was going to be an interesting year. One of the first days of his class he found out my name was Dallas and said “Dallas, that is a very nice name you have; I like that name.”

Civics has always been my favorite class since I was young but it wasn’t really the teacher that made it interesting. Civics can be the most fun class if you have a teacher like Mr. O who uses the internet to show us stuff and make the lessons he teaches more interesting by adding humor. I have always had a great memory which is really helpful in classes like civics when remembering various facts, dates, and other information. I feel like Mr. O’s teaching style helps me remember stuff even more. This year I have gotten an A both marking periods in his class, and it has become my favorite class at my school which I can partially attest to Mr. O’s teaching style. You never know what to expect when you go to class with Mr. O. On “A” days he is my first class of the day which makes waking up a lot easier knowing I will have his class first.

The thing I like best about Mr. O is that he is not afraid to speak his mind or share his honest opinion. Knowing someone like Mr. O’s opinion kind of opens your eyes to a whole new aspect of a topic. He also stresses that there is a whole life outside of Delaware, and he shows us videos from across the globe. We all get to share our opinions on the videos and he gives us his opinion too, and I feel like I can honestly say that I learn something new every day in his class. I like most of my classes this year and it is never really hard to pay attention in, but none are as easy as Mr. O’s class!

Different people have their own idea of an ideal teacher, and Mr. O just happened to meet the criteria of my ideal teacher and who I think should be the Educator of the Year. I’m glad that I finally have someone to make my favorite subject more interesting. Any class can be enjoyable if you have someone who can teach it right. It just so happens that my favorite subject can be even more enjoyable to me after a long stretch of boring teachers. I wish that everyone had at least one teacher like Mr. O in their life so they can have something to look forward to at school. Teachers like Mr. O can be the difference in a person’s education and can make someone who usually does not enjoy school become someone who can’t wait to come to class. The U.S. education system needs more people like Mr. O.