The first week of May is set aside to celebrate the hard work and dedication of people in society who directly impact the lives of children and young adults around the country. This week is known as Teacher Appreciation Week. The intention of Teacher Appreciation Week is to acknowledge the diligence that teachers put in to educate their students, as well as to give recognition because they often do not receive it.

Students at Livingston Manor Central School are very fortunate to have dedicated and caring professionals who treat each student as an individual. Every single teacher in the building, from math, to history, to English, to science, to the arts and physical education, makes an effort to have classes that are student-centered and fun.

Each teacher plays an important role in the school. Providing lessons is not the only thing that they do though. We have teachers who are in charge of clubs, who chaperone events in their free time, who go the extra mile to communicate with families, who coach sports teams, who spend years as class advisors and who offer extra hours outside of school to help students who are struggling.

Most teachers go out of their way on a daily basis to get things done and make a difference. Some teachers even have to spend weekends or late nights grading. They are role models who give students a chance to learn something new in life that can help them in the future. These reasons are why it is so important to recognize all of the work teachers put in to give students the best possible education.

All of that being said, one teacher who many students at Livingston Manor Central School are fond of is Mr. Tyler Emory. His patience and easy-to-talk-to personality make him very likeable. Mr. Emory teaches Statistics, Pre-calculus and Calculus 1 for grades seven through twelve. This is his second year teaching at LMCS. Unlike other school districts that have multiple teachers who instruct the same subjects, Mr. Emory is on his own and must come up with interactive lesson plans without the assistance of another professional.

Due to student interest, I interviewed Mr. Emory about his love for teaching and his experience so far at LMCS. My first question for him was what his favorite part of teaching is. “My favorite part is when I have kids who don’t understand what I teach, and then finally it clicks and I’m able to see their facial expressions change,” he said.

Mr. Emory explained how important it is to him that students in his class actually understand what he teaches. What makes his job special is being able to make a difference in a student’s confidence level.

Mr. Emory also expressed how nice it is to work at a smaller school because he is able to connect with students on a more personal basis. Due to the fact Livingston Manor is so much smaller than other school districts, he often has students for multiple years rather than just one. Due to this, he is able to see the growth of his students throughout their high school experience. Other schools usually have teachers that only work with certain students for just a single year before they move on to the next teacher.

Livingston Manor is lucky to have such a hardworking teacher like Mr. Emory. On behalf of the students, thank you to all of the staff at Livingston Manor who make school fun, and life-long learning possible for so many children.

This story is excerpted from the May issue of LMCS’s Manor Monthly.