Today at the academic assembly, there were a lot of awards given, but one stood above the rest. The award for "teacher of the year" went to Coach Rennie Atkinson, who handles all the A.P. European History classes. Last year, I had the wonderful privilege of taking his class, and it turned out to be the class with the single most effect on my academic career.
When Coach A. gave his short speech, he was brought to tears as he called it "the greatest award of my career." I have never clapped so fervently in my life. A standing ovation and the classic "clap.........clap.......clap.....clap...clap..clap.clapclap" were totally deserved, and I wish there was even more the student body could do to honor him. I'm sure he makes a great football coach, but first and foremost, he is an outstanding teacher. When you are in Coach A's class it's hard to care about any of your others. He is a hilarious man, and he motivates his students to work hard - getting a good score on one of his essays was incredibly satisfying. You wanted to do well because Coach A wanted you to, and if you didn't you knew you were letting him down. Letting Coach A down was something I would not let myself do.
How great the man is can only be understood by taking his class. It was my first AP class, and, thus far, my best. (That is in no way a slight to my other great teachers like Dr. Carreker and Mrs. Taylor!) I don't really have much of a personal relationship with the guy, but I think everyone should know how much of a blessing his class is to FPD. And maybe, just maybe, he'll be shown this blog and know how much his life has affected my life. The award he recieved today only showed the huge amount of people who appreciate him. Coach A, you are a huge part of what makes FPD.
My only regret is I only made a 4 on the exam, not a 5.
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