Daryle Elams

Most people think that the school staff are just for taking people to ISS and guiding students around the school, but the Counselors and other staff members can teach good life lessons and other skills. My 8th grade "teacher" that changed a lot of my school life was someone named Mr. Elams. He was a school monitor type staff member who I enjoyed talking to every day, he taught me how to play chess and gave our table a lot of life lessons. Mr. Elams was a staff member that worked in the cafeteria during the lunch times and was a hall monitor during the class periods. I met him around the middle of my 8th grade year when I saw him teaching some kid how to play chess. I was intrigued by this and asked him if I could come play too. Prior to me talking to him I already played chess, but he was someone who was very skilled in this complicated board game. My friend Will came over to the table because he liked chess too and he soon realized how good of a "teacher" Mr. Elams was. Soon after me and my friend Will both thought this guy was our favorite person in the school. He taught us certain procedures and skills to use in chess games. Every once in a while, he would give us life lessons if one of us asked something, or he would just rant and turn it into a life lesson. We often went to him if we had a question about the school because we were comfortable around him, unlike the principal. This person was a person that heavily impacted my middle school life up until now because I still remember the things he taught me in chess, not so much the life lessons because of all the work up until now clouding my memory. School teachers and staff members are not people being used by the school. Your life can be changed by a person that is thought to be there for education and school related purposes, but they can also be a person who affects who you are as a person. Mr. Elams is probably the teacher that I say is my most influential teacher because I still use his skills today.

Dustin Taylor