Having brothers going to the school that I was about to attend I kind of already knew what to expect and heard what the teachers were like.  However, this didn’t apply in this situation because the first class I had was Naval Science with Master Sergeant Howie who was teaching his first year at the Delaware Military Academy.  I was kind of scared for three reasons. He is a Marine, he was new so I didn’t know what to expect, and he is 6 feet 7 inches tall.  This all changed though when MSgt. Howie started to introduce himself and tell us what he did in the Marine Corps. This made me fascinated, and at that point I knew that I was going to like him and the class he taught.  I am nominating MSgt. Howie as Educator of the Year because he has taught me lots of things this year already whether it is something about self defense or just what a ribbon stands for.   

The thing that I like the most about MSgt. Howie is that he teaches how to defend ourselves with various martial arts moves like how to get out of a choke hold;  MSgt. is a very aware teacher and is protective.  These sound like weird characteristics to give a teacher, but they are very good because it means we are safe.  Being a Marine MSgt says that he knows what to look out for if something looks fishy. If there is ever a movement or something outside the window, you always see MSgt’s attention drawn right to the window.  Although him being aware is a good thing, it also can be bad for students because MSgt. can spot someone chewing gum from like a mile away, and that means that you got some pushups to do.

Another thing about MSgt. Howie is that he is very knowledgeable.  MSgt. tells us about going to different countries and how you have to be careful and heads up about things because things are different in other countries.  He also is there to answer any question that you have whether it comes to uniforms or to something we’re learning.  The thing that I like the most about how MSgt teaches is that he always finds a way to make lessons we are learning relevant to things in our lives like sports and clubs.

That last thing that makes MSgt. a good teacher is that he gets to know his students. He knows what sports, clubs, and activities his students like to do, and this is how he gets our attention, and this shows us that he cares. I  also like how MSgt likes to teach the class and that is that he has kind of a fast-paced way of getting through lessons; I like this because I don’t like to spend too much time on a lesson. 

These are all reasons why I am nominating MSgt. Howie as Educator of the Year. I think that MSgt. Howie is a good teacher because he is engaged with students and knows how to get their own attention and knows what they are into.  He also knows lots of things about life, and I have learned many things from just being in his class; I hope to learn more.