For Educator of the Year, I choose my Naval Science Instructor (NSI), Senior Chief Mclain at the Delaware Military Academy. Senior Chief is my naval science teacher. In that class, we learn about “The General Orders to the Sentry”, Navy ships, flag folding, drill, and much more. Senior Chief is always looking out for his students and is very passionate when teaching.

When we take tests, we don’t just get the score back and move on; we go over the questions people got wrong or have a question about and make sure everyone is on the same page. When we take notes, he takes time to discuss the topics on the slides rather than having us just write them all down and speed through them. We also take rank tests to get promoted from seaman recruit to seaman apprentice and then to seaman and so on. To help us study for the tests, he makes links on his website we can use to memorize the ranks and improve our chances of passing.

Senior Chief is also always trying to make class enjoyable. When he can tell the class is tired or down in the dumps, he will always crack a joke and try to get everyone awake and laughing. Some of his jokes make you think, which has the class collectively trying to figure it out. Sometimes towards the beginning or end of class, he will play music or let us choose the music which gets everyone in a good mood. He’s always trying to make us smile while enjoying the lessons and assessments he assigns.

When we drill, he tries to make it exciting by playing knock-out towards the end of each class or by splitting us into tiny groups to practice drill commands on our own. He’s always looking out for us too. If the boys need new belt buckles for inspection because they’re scratched, he goes to supply himself and gets some. If someone is missing a ribbon, he offers them a ribbon from his stash. If your measurements, hair, or alignment on your uniform looks off, he lets you know and allows you to fix it before inspection.

Senior Chief always tries to make naval science an informational and entertaining class for his students. His smile and his jokes brighten the day and make people laugh. I feel like an attitude like his is what every teacher should have. He puts time and effort into his lessons and is very knowledgeable about drill. That’s why I nominate Senior Chief Mclain for Educator of The Year.