Educator of the year nomination:

Mr. Brian Starrett

In my school experience I have had many teachers who have helped me, worked with me, and cared about me. As a result, whenever I have trouble with any of my classes, I feel confident that I can look towards teachers for help. An example of this was last year, when my math teacher, Mr. Starrett, helped me when I was having trouble in his class.
I have always had trouble in math class; even now that I’m a straight “A” student in math it’s still a challenge for me. Last year I had a particularly hard year in it. I couldn’t understand the subjects he was talking about, and I started to receive bad grades. After the second marking period, when I wasn’t getting the grades that I wanted, I just gave up. I would talk all class, and I gave up listening and studying, for watching T.V., and fooling around in the classroom. Slowly, my grades on quizzes and tests slipped from “Bs” to “Cs”, and I still couldn’t be bothered.
After my first, and only “C” of the year, in the second marking period, I looked back, and thought to myself, “What if this was a “D”, or an “F”?” At that moment I knew that I had to turn things around. I started off by talking to Mr. Starrett. He helped me understand subjects that made no sense to me. He helped me get caught up on work that I didn’t know how to do, and I started to see improvements in my test and quiz grades. It was too late to get an “A”, but my grade for the third marking period was a solid “B”. I was still happy with my grade, and I felt as if I’d achieved something.
In the fourth marking period, I really started to work hard; I started to do my homework every night, rather than slack off. I still had some trouble with my work, but instead of getting frustrated and quitting, I knew I could go to Mr. Starrett, and he would show me how to do it and help me practice. My quiz and test grades went from “Bs” to “As”, and after the fourth marking period was over, I had a 94% in Mr. Starrett’s class, my first “A” in his class all year.
I was excited to show my family and friends, and Mr. Starrett congratulated me on a job well done. I was really happy with my grades, and grateful for Mr. Starrett’s help, and I have learned from that experience. I now feel confident that I can talk to my teachers and learn from my mistakes. I have had a lot of good teachers, and during all my years of school, I have asked for a lot of help, but nothing was more satisfying than shaking Mr. Starrett’s hand, and knowing that I had got an “A”. The least I can do is thank him by nominating him for teen ink’s educator of the year award.