Making my way up to middle school at North Lake, I was terrified of getting to fifth grade. Now I would be upstairs with the other middle schoolers. Then I got placed into Mr. Behnke’s class. He started off class cracking jokes and making sure that the students in his class were feeling involved. He made me feel more comfortable and relaxed. Mr. Behnke was always a great teacher to introduce me to middle school.

Mr. Behnke could fix every problem that his students brought to him. For example, if a student in one of his classes would get the hiccups, he would send them to get exactly 15 sips of water. Somehow it made the hiccups disappear.  “That will always work, and if it doesn’t, I want you to come and tell me.” Mr. Behnke was confident in his ways. He wasn’t a traditional teacher. He had his own way to perform tasks (and somehow they worked). Mr. Behnke’s ideas ranged from simple ideas such as bringing the class outside on a nice day to an insane idea to let the fifth graders plan the holiday parties.

At my elementary school, we had cards that we pulled when we did something bad. That gave Mr. Behnke to another wacky idea. He thought of a better way to “punish” us. If somebody had to get a book out of their locker, Mr. Behnke would give them a choice to either pull a card of have them do 10 push-ups instead of pulling a card. It was a fun and creative way to make sure his students were prepared for class.

Mr. Behnke was also the fifth grade basketball coach. I was on the team and during the season, Mr. Behnke formed a great relationship with each of the people on the team. He wanted to make us better while still having fun. He made the practices and games enjoyable for the team. I couldn’t have asked for a better coach than Mr. Behnke, he was an impeccable coach for fifth grade students.

Mr. Behnke was a great teacher, coach, and friend. I have had many teachers before Mr. Behnke and I have had many since but none of them have quite lived up to Mr. Behnke. I was lucky to have such an amazing teacher.