Why That Teacher?

So I was talking with Natalie and she mentioned the Teacher Award Nominations and I thought, "that would make a cool thread!" So, if anyone wants to share who they nominated and why, here's a thread to do it on!

If you have any questions about the Teacher Nominations, there's a thread in FAQ answering questions about it as well.

Guess I better start first.
I'm in for visual arts so I nominated my art teacher Ms. Farnham!! Last year she was my art teacher in my super small class of 7, and I went with her (not just her, there were teachers and kids from other schools on the bus as well) to washington for portfolio day. This year she's my art teacher again, as well as my AP Art History teacher!

We've had a few class field trips and I remember this one time I forgot my permission slip. A classmate pulled me out of class and she actually called my dad and got permission from him over the phone and I was able to go.

Just yesterday I was about to take my art history test and I had forgotten my lunch, so she pulled out a tuna salad snack pack with crackers and gave it to me. She'll let us listen to the radio when we work, and for holidays she'll give us candy and the Christmas before last we had a little party with soda, chips, cookies, and a movie.

That's not to say that she's bought me though. She's always been really supportive. Like if I'm feeling frustrated with a piece she'll let me work on something else, and she always tries to offer helpful suggestions.

And she'll share her life with us. Nothing intimate or creepy, but I know that she's got rescue huskies and a puggle. I know she's from Chicago and she does crew as a hobby.

I like this thread.

I nominated my IB History of the Americas teacher, Mr. Parada, or as I call him, P-Rad.

He's been the most influential teacher I've ever had. Being in his class has led me to realized what exactly it is that I want to do with life, and it has prevented me from making what would have been a terrible mistake. Prior to taking his class I always thought that I wanted to be a doctor, or do something related with the medical field, but as a student in his class I realized that my true love lied within the study of history and politics. As a result I learned that I should not pursue a career in medicine, which I only considered because doctors make a ton of money, but that I should pursue a career involving my passion, history and politics. Through the coursework, the extracurriculars, and everything else he's helped me out on, including getting into Governor's School by making me sound like the Second Coming of Jesus in my Letter of Recommendation, I have narrowed down my college majors to something I'll enjoy, Political Science, History, International Relations, and Latin American Studies.

I also chose him because he loves to participate in discussions and because he's a genius when it comes to history and politics. He tends to make a joke out of everything, so usually we spend the majority of our class laughing. He's an awesome dude. For this, I thought, maybe I should nominate someone who on Teacher Recognition Day could provide everyone else with a good laugh and at the same time prove to be a valuable asset to the class discussions he and the rest of the teachers will be attending on Teacher Recognition Day. I should share the awesomeness from which I base myself from. HAHA.

I chose my AP English Comp teacher Mrs Simmons because shes actually who encouraged me to do this thing. She has really expanded my outlook on things through various class discussions shes probaly the most each teacher to talk to and has wrote me so many recommendations for stuff its unreal lol. and honestly God bless her for putting up with me in an AP class because they all make me so nervous lol. Oh and shes sorta young so shes easier to relate to than many of the other teachers that work at my school

I picked my orchestra teacher Mrs. Dennis because she was my strings teacher in 5th grade when I started playing the cello and shes the one that made me love playing the cello. Then when it came time for all-city auditions I was going to do audition because I didn't think I was good enough and she pushed me to audition and I made all-city that year.

Then when I got to high school she was the Orchestra teacher again. She has never hesitated to offer anyone her office to sit in when they were having a really hard time and she makes everyone do their absolute best. She created a second family for all of us in orchestra by giving us somewhere that we could be ourselves and have fun.

She was also there for me when I was struggling with my dad being deployed and she gave me a place to go when I just needed to take a step back from everything else.

I chose my drama teacher Mr. Staggs

He's probably one of the most amazing person I've ever met. He's taught me so much about Life, about other school subjects, and most importantly THEATRE.

I wasn't even going to audition for this (especially with the 3 hour drive just to audition) but he really pushed me to it, worked with me every morning on my monologue. He's so supportive (he even got mad at me because I didn't call him to tell him I got accepted when he was at Disney World!)

ugh,..I feel like I've explained this so poorly and gave nothing to his credit,...but oh well

MR STAGGS ROCKS!

I nominated my art teacher, Coach Hall. He is awesome. He is a man who is perpetually stressed, addicted to Pandora and caffeine, hilarious, and, in general, extremely endearing.

Coach Hall really did bring art into my life. Before I had him, art was just like any other class. I showed up for class. I put a lot of work into my art, but mainly because it was an assignment. I was grade oriented, and only did as much as I had to.

Now, he has made me realized that art doesn't stay in the classroom. It is a way for me to escape from the mess that my life occasionally becomes. Art isn't just an assignment; it is a form of expression. I can't dance or sing or compose music, but I always know that I can use art to convey something special. I don't worry about my grade anymore. I am always more concerned about being happy with the art rather than being happy about the grade. For me, this is rare, and feels rather nice too.

Not only did he nominate me as our school's Summer Gov candidate, but he worked after school with me to complete my portfolio. He has written recommendations for me, bought me all kinds of crazy supplies, been there when I needed to vent about Calculus, and overall supported me like no other teacher ever has.

Coach Hall has made me think, grow, and mature as an artist, student, and a person. He allowed me to truly experience passion for a discipline.

Natalieeeee Gov School stole Mr Hall from CFA..... but I guess if they hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to nominate MY teacher since she would not be there, seeing as how she replaced him xD

The woman is pure crazycakes. She is known for saying things such as "Transcend the media!" repeatedly. She can often be found with crazy scarfs on her head, brightly colored knee socks, and sparkly things on her long hippie skirts.

I nominated Mrs. Dowdy because even though she is insanely busy with getting her masters and teaching like 8 billion classes, she manages to make time for each individual student in our class, including myself. She was there when I needed recommendations. She was there to (attempt to) calm me down when I wanted to scream because of the noise the stylus made when etching on plexiglas (and was there when I did so, right in front of the principal). She was there when I couldn't find the extension cord to the lamp that was illuminating my still life. She was there for every major milestone of my artistic career.

Mrs. Dowdy really brought out the individual minds of every student in our class, and helped us to develop our own thoughts and ideas, rather than teach us one format. She sparked up some of the most in depth, meaningful, and hilarious conversations I've ever been in with a large group of people, and honestly, without her, I wouldn't be where I am today.

I chose my 9th and 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Driest. I was so scared of her at first. But she was the kindest woman I ever met. She has always been willing to do whatever she could to help me out. She was the one who really encouraged me to come to Gov school. She told me I could do it.
I have had Mrs. Driest every year (She was my idependent study supervisor for 11th grade and will be it for next year) and I could not imagine school without her. Everyday I see her, she smiles. Everyone loves her.