A Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO) of the Navy, deployed for over 30 years, an instructor, a leader, and a role model; while accurate and important these descriptors are no match for my candidate for the Educator of the Year award. I nominate MCPO Frank King for Educator of the Year because he brings his thorough Navy experience, and incorporates opportunities into the Navy Junior Reserve Training Corps (NJROTC) program, and uses them to their fullest potential. He relates our Navy-based class information to real-life events presenting cadets with new leadership positions and creating a unique bond with each student; MCPO King is the obvious choice for the Educator of the Year award.

To begin with, MCPO King incorporates real-world situations into lesson plans. For example, once our class was learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor; MCPO King finished his presentation by showing us pictures of the Pearl Harbor Memorial and sharing his experience at the memorial. In addition to the lesson connections, MCPO King encourages us to make our connections every day with our “Quote and Current Event” presentations. In these presentations, students select a quotation, describe what it means to them, and ask the class for their opinion on the excerpt; then, the student describes a current event and informs the class about the significance of that event. These daily presentations allow students to work on their public-speaking skills and inform others of the topics that they are passionate about. These examples show MCPO King’s creativity and problem-solving abilities and demonstrate one of the many reasons that he should be titled Educator of the Year.

In addition to his interactive teaching style, MCPO King deserves this award because he presents students with new opportunities beyond the NJROTC program. At the beginning of the school year, I showed an interest in Color Guard related activities although I was unable to join the official squad because of athletics; when there were availabilities in a Color Guard event, MCPO King would recommend me for these positions, which introduced me to many new experiences, like meeting Senator Carper. Not only does MCPO King remember the personal interests of students, but he also allows new students to experience leadership opportunities and become more well-rounded students. For example, on the days when our platoon practices military drill, MCPO King allows for different students to be a squad leader, and practice leading a small squad of cadets by calling commands. Finally, MCPO King presents students with leadership options by allowing them to be the platoon leader. Similar to being a squad leader, the platoon leader calls commands and cadence for cadets, except the platoon leader is responsible for the entire class. This partial experience as a platoon leader creates an opportunity to earn a permanent position as a platoon leader or squad leader later on in school if desired. These opportunities provided by MCPO King show that he loves to push students to include new adventures; it’s a great quality for a teacher to have.

Finally, MCPO King deserves this award because he creates a special bond with each of his students. MCPO King takes the bond between teachers and students a step further by establishing humorous and lighthearted relationships with his students. For example, a student was taking a long time when taking notes MCPO King asked what was taking him so long, and the student replied by explaining that he was drawing a picture that was shown on each of the slides; now when our class takes notes MCPO King always pokes fun at the student by asking if he needs more time to draw the picture. MCPO King also forms joking bonds with his students by jokingly dropping them. Specifically, when our class was working in groups for a project, my group was laughing a lot, and during a fit of laughter, I made eye contact with MCPO King, to which he responded by calling me up and telling me to get into the pushup position. Confused but complying, I assumed the position and asked for permission to begin, only to be told to stand back up and get back to work. MCPO King creates an environment that encourages growth and development in students without setting an expectation that they feel pressured to meet which is an essential quality in a successful instructor.

To summarize, with his creative teaching techniques, leadership opportunities, and lighthearted banter with students, MCPO King is proven to be an amazing candidate for the Educator of the Year award. By giving students a platform to spread awareness about current events that they are passionate about, MCPO King works on students’ public speaking skills and opens daily opportunities for discussion. Providing weekly leadership openings, MCPO King allows students a chance to grow and expand their horizons as leaders. Finally, MCPO King bonds with his students and creates an environment where students feel comfortable growing and learning. MCPO King has courageously defended our country and is now selflessly improving it through the quality education he is providing.