To me, math is like the sound of a funeral march. This year, however, my perception of math changed.

Senior year I had the unfortunate task of retaking Advanced Algebra. I anticipated it being as dreadful as the previous year, but as soon as Mr. Urban began to speak, I felt I finally had a chance to succeed. Coming into class, I felt like a failure, but Mr. Urban never made me feel stupid for repeating the class. He understands that math is difficult and makes it his goal to change that.

He explains each lesson so clearly that I forget it’s a math class. Even during the most difficult lessons, he makes the class erupt in laughter. His jokes are quick and witty and encourage students not to stress too much. The way he teaches math, it is simple.

Mr. Urban never wastes time. He’ll jump straight to the easiest way to solve for x and will not stop reviewing it until he is satisfied we all understand. If a student raises his hand seven times, Mr. Urban will find seven different ways to explain the concept. His booming voice carries the information into your mind. Furthermore, Mr. Urban takes just one day to grade our exams; most teachers take weeks.

I believe Mr. Urban is worthy of this award because he understands the mind of a teenager. The several quizzes we receive each week are only two questions long. They test our knowledge from the previous day and get straight to the point. He also allows us to use our notes for quizzes and tests. This encourages good listening and note-taking, which are great life skills. Despite having notes, I find I don’t need to use them during a test because I feel so self-assured.

In Mr. Urban’s class, math becomes painless. His passion for it translates into the way his students think about math. He could teach babies simple calculus with his teaching style. Because I was repeating algebra, I knew there were certain concepts I found difficult. When Mr. Urban introduced them, I thought, That’s what I thought was so hard? Never in my 12 years of school did I think math would be my highest grade.

With his sense of humor and his relatable personality, Mr. Urban makes math enjoyable. I am nominating him not only because of his dedication to teaching, but because he was able to change math from a funeral march into a happy song.