At Holy Angels, my middle school, I had one social studies teacher for all three years. That teacher was Keith Mckenika. While to most people learning about social studies can be boring, he found a way to make it quite interesting. Whether he was teaching us about the city states of Greece, the Roman republic, or the ancient Chinese, he always made it fun.

He was a very interactive teacher, often taking the time to explore things in depth if you asked. He was very knowledgeable as well, so even if your questions were a little off the wall, he would be able to provide a clear answer. While in middle school he was by far my favorite teacher, and probably one of the best at that school.

Something that always stood out about him was his sense of humor. He was very witty and would occasionally poke fun at us students but always in a light hearted and kind way. He never seemed like this distant authoritarian figure. He seemed to understand what we, as kids, were like, and he was able to interact with us in a positive way because of that.

Above all else he was a very helpful teacher who gave us many ways to not only obtain the information we were required to know, but also various study tools for tests and quizzes. As I mentioned before, he always took the time to explain things to us and offered his help whenever needed. Not only did he give us ample means to obtain the information but he also gave us ample time to complete assignments and study for tests and quizzes.

Mr. Mckenika is not only a fantastic teacher but, he is the best I've ever had. He found different ways to make a rather boring subject very interesting for me and others as well. He has helped me to learn lots of information and made me passionate about learning more. I will always owe him a debt of gratitude for helping me prepare for high school. For the reasons above and many more he's my nomination for educator of the year.