For Educator of the Year, I  nominate Senior Chief William McClain. Senior Chief formerly served in the Navy and is now a Naval Science instructor at my high school, Delaware Military Academy. I strongly believe that someone as brave, friendly and intelligent as him should receive this award
Senior Chief has been working at DMA since the school opened in 2003. He’s always got the most interesting stories to tell about his years serving in the Navy and his years spent working at DMA. Whether it’s the students he’s taught or the people he’s worked with, it’s always something to make you laugh. Every time you see him or walk into his classroom, he’s always greeting you with a smile or even a friendly fistbump, and that’s not something you get out of most teachers.
Senior Chief has taught me many valuable things in the time I’ve known him, but personally, I think confidence is the most important thing he taught me. When I was dealing with a bully, he became aware of it immediately and sat me down and told me that if I ever needed help or just someone to talk to, then he would be there for me. That made me feel good inside knowing I had someone to depend on, and I’m usually an independent person, always wanting to do things on my own. I feel like this is where his bravery came into play. It’s not everyday one of your teachers sits you down to say they’re there to support you. That’s one thing that not many people seem to possess is the ability to care for other people and their needs. So I suppose you could even say he is a very selfless man who puts everyone before himself.
Now although he is one of the comical type of teachers, he does take his job seriously. Whether it’s going outside and practicing for drill or getting ready for an inspection. It’s never been too much for him, because unlike all the other NSIs, he only teaches us freshman. Luckily, we’ve all seemed to catch on quite quickly so he’s not spending days or weeks talking about one subject. He’s very patient because he knows that it won’t come easy to most people at first. That’s where, I believe, he’s earning most of his respect, by being helpful and patient. I’m sure he’s aware that even though we do these difficult and stressful things every day, we’re still kids, and we need time to grow up and do our own things.
I believe that someone as brave, respectful and courteous as Senior Chief McClain more than deserves this award. He’s what I’ve looked for in every teacher I’ve ever had since the time I started attending school in general, and I wouldn’t want to nominate anyone else for this award;he’s my Educator of the Year.