In memory

One thing I love about teaching is that you get to rub elbows with giants. There are so many great teachers out there doing affecting countless lives, and the best part is that, you can imitate freely. There's no air of competition in this field, and all I can do is try my best to follow in their tracks. 

Thank you James for introducing me to Mr. Wood, a teacher who passed away recently and now has a facebook dedication page made by former students. Here are some of their wall posts:

Khoa Doan - Mr. Wood was an incredible man and mentor.

I remember when he drew a huge circle on the blackboard and asked everyone what it was...everyone would say a circle or earth, to which mr. Wood would say, "this is my wife bending over." his laughter was infectious and was willing to turn a frown upside down. His inner child ...will always remind me to enjoy life.

I remember when we would do an in-class assignment, he would be in the hallway riding his scooter or playing with his remote control car.

Thank you mr. Wood! You will be missed.

Erin O'Keefe - I met Mr. Wood 5 years before I even had him as a teacher when my oldest brother had him, and again when my second older brother had him. I was merely an eighth grader when he gave me a cow that poops out jelly beans (which I still have). He was such an amazing man, who always had a smile. He retired in my senior year, and I was fortunate to have him as a teacher. He would tell me that he couldn't retire until he had the last O'Keefe in his classroom. 

He had a way of making EVERY student feel loved and important. He was funny, and intelligent, and had a way of making Government enjoyable. RIP Mr. Wood. I hope you got to open that candy shop like you wanted to after you retired.

Kimberly Tran - I remember he would find out during class that we were all ditching the next day for senior ditch day, and would say really angrily, "You guys are ditching tomorrow?" Then he would say "why didn't you tell me?" and walk over to the phone to find a sub cause as he explained it, he was a "senior" citizen too and and he'd... be darned if he wasn't going to be included.