It was the first day of school and I was dreading walking into Mr. Lingenfelter’s social studies room. My whole life I though social studies was pointless and boring. It was never my favorite subject. That day I proved myself wrong. As I took my first step into the room I couldn’t stop staring at the walls and ceiling covered in inspiration, motivation, and historical events that’s when I knew it was going to be a year to remember.

My first thought was history has come to life; I have just viewed Social Studies in a whole different way. As I scanned the room I noticed a lot but there were a few things that really popped out at me and one of them was a live court room that Mr. Lingenfelter had built himself that was set up in the front of the room. Another part of the room that stood out to me was a memorial in the back of the room. It was set up for a young solider by the name of Chad Clifton. Later in the year, we had a very inspiring lesson on Chad. It is one of the lessons I will never forget. The last thing I noticed were pictures of Mr. Lingenfelter with our country’s political figures such as Tom Carper, President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bush. There was never a dull moment in Mr. L’s class. The best part was there was a lesson behind every object in his room, including the painted ceiling tiles.

No matter who you were, where you came from, or what your outlook on life was, we were all treated equal in Mr. L’s classroom. Mr.Lingenfelter had a way with students like no other teacher did. He could teach to any type of student, good or bad behavior, faster learners, slow learners or even those that didn’t want to learn at all. Mr. Lingenfelter had one quote about being successful that I will always remember, he always use to say; “There’s always room at the top of the mountain.” I got so much from that quote but what I mainly pulled out was that anyone can be successful if you don’t give up and push yourself to set goals in life. Lastly, he always stooped down to any student’s level to make sure everyone understood his lesson. He always got through to each and every one of his students.

I wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to how many awards Mr. Lingenfelter has won for being a superior teacher. It’s not even the fact that he has won so many awards, it’s the fact that he deserves them and has worked hard to gain every one of them. He has won teacher of the year at least 5 times for his district and state and he’s only been teaching for about 13 years. A really cool award was the Superstar in education he won for his bill of rights program. He has also won history teacher for the state of Delaware. That is a big accomplishment! For being such a small state Delaware has some of the nation’s best teachers. Senator Carper wrote a report about him winning this award that he submitted in the congressional records. To top all the awards he has won, he also serves on many committees. He is on a leadership and curriculum committee for the Red Clay School district and the State Department of Education.

In conclusion, Mr. Lingenfelter was not only my favorite teacher but an inspiring teacher. He was the first teacher that has knocked reality into all of his students and he really showed us why history is important and why you need to know about events happening in the world. I can honestly say that he will never be forgotten. I still clearly remember many of his lessons. He is a great role model to have in life. I know he is definitely one of my top role models. Mr. Lingenfelter has absolutely made me want to be a successful person not only in school but in life.