Jonathan Decker

I knew from the moment I met him at orientation that I would love his class, he had this amazing attitude about school and being our teacher AND our friend. The first day we went over the syllabus but that might have been one of the only days we did a "boring" thing. He always kept the conversation interesting. When he wasn't feeling well, he never let that get in the way of us. He let us help him with small things and treated us like teenagers who were all unique with our own individual challenges and goals. He never left anyone out. When someone needed help, he ALWAYS helped. He never got annoyed or irritated by us, and if he did, he never expressed it. He was level-headed and kind. He specifically made me trust him when I was crying and instead of ignoring me like most teachers have done, he genuinely looked me in the eyes and said (something along the lines of), "I hate to see you cry when you have a beautiful smile, you're always happy!" He asked me what was wrong and always reassured me that he was there for me. He knew the difference between being there and being annoying. He gave space when needed and let you trust him when you wanted to. I told him what was wrong later in the day and he helped me through a rough time in my life. He really changed my perspective on teachers. Even though he was very supportive, he was also hilarious! He told us so many funny stories about him and his wonderful family. He let us watch educational movies when we were having a bad day (we always finished our work early because we were an advanced/ accelerated class). He made us all feel less like kids and more like a big, slightly dysfunctional, family. If I ever had to choose a teacher more deserving of an award it would be impossible based on my experiences, he was such an amazing teacher and friend to us all!

Miriam