Every time I walked by your classroom, I would see the students with their desks together, working on projects, and the room was always decorated with educational media and students' artistic creations." One of the parents of a special needs child stood up. "Your class, coupled with resource room help, was so important for my son. Brad is very gifted at physical skills and art, but he always struggled to catch up in language arts and math. You stayed with him after class, and taught him special visual and mnemonic devices that reinforced what had been learned during the day, enabling him to keep pace with his peer group. Now he is a college student and is no longer classified as special needs."

Another parent added: "I remember chaperoning with you on the Washington DC trip for the 8th grade. It was amazing how you always kept your sense of humor, even...

"You taught me that teaching is a fun and creative process. You have to be constantly on your toes. There is nothing easy about teaching, because the lesson plan must be constantly adapted to the needs of the class. Teaching is all about communication and learning from a class. It's because of teachers like you that I am proud to be a teacher. I use some of the songs and jingles you taught us to remember things, and many of the novels, teaching techniques, and motivational slogans in my own classes."