I have never been one to get up before it’s light out, however, I don’t have much of a choice. So by ninth hour, I am tired and ready to get home and take a nap--but not this year. With Mr. Herriot as my ninth hour psychology teacher, I look forward to his class instead of dreading it. Mr. Herriot keeps his class lively, humorous, and involved.

Mr. Herriot is not only a psychology teacher, but he is also an U.S. history teacher, track coach, and a father of two children.

Even though ninth hour isn’t an US history class, he still likes us to be aware of what’s going on in the world. He does this because he believes it is important for everyone to know what is happening. I am not one for sitting in front of the television and watching the news, so when we go through current events everyday, it gives me a mini lesson on the things I SHOULD be paying attention to, or that could possibly affect my life.

“Current events. Who’s got some?” he asks at the beginning of class everyday … (silence) … “Not all at once everyone,” he’ll say as he chuckles. Most teachers wouldn’t go out of their way to include small facts of their other classes into one another, but he is compassionate about what he teaches and he cares for his students. “In just one or two years, you guys are going to be out at the polls, and I don’t want anyone who doesn’t know what’s going on in our world to have that power,” Mr. Herriot mentioned one day, and I couldn’t agree more.

Not only is he intelligent, but he is also thoughtful, and caring. One day, everyone had to write questions for how we could solve psychological problems, and a girl in my class was struggling with coming up with some. Mr. Herriot noticed she was having a hard time, so he walked over to her desk casually, squatted down, and gently said to her, “A lot of people have a hard time with this, don’t worry. Just keep trying and you’ll get it.” I could tell by the smile given back to him that she felt comforted by his encouragement. Mr. Herriot doesn’t do small things like that because he wants to be known as caring--he does it without even realizing it, because that’s just who he is. And he doesn’t do this on occasion, he does it everyday.

Mr. Harriot is interested in interacting with his students and knowing things about them. It’s not part of his job description to do this, but he does it because he’s genuinely interested. When he does this, it makes me feel important and it makes the other students feel important too. I feel like he wants to actually get to know his students and be able to hold a conversation with them that’s not school related. And trust me, that’s nice to have once and awhile throughout a seven hour school day.

Mr. Herriot is not like most teachers. When someone falls asleep in class, most teachers would yell at them in front of the class, embarrassing them, but Mr. Herriot does it a different way. One day, someone was looking exhausted, their eyes like weights. He walked up to them and calmly asked, “Did you not get much sleep last night?”  He did not ask it in a rude manner; instead, he asked it in a curious manner.

But for the kids who are constantly falling asleep -- with their head in their hands -- and irritating him, he still doesn’t yell at them in front of the class, but instead, he asks them a question in front of the class. He does this because he knows the student wasn’t listening to what he was saying, so instead of losing it and yelling at them, he’ll ask them a very simple question that someone would’ve known if they were paying attention. He gives  them that, “Hey I saw you sleeping,” impression. If they ask to use the bathroom, he responds with, “As long as you promise to not fall asleep today,” as a grin appears on his face. This proves that he’s also is very patient. Nobody likes a teacher who goes straight to yelling.

Not only is he not like most teachers, but his class isn’t like most classes. I dread going to my classes each day because it’s the same old, same old, but for a change, I look forward to going to Mr. Herriot’s class. He doesn’t teach the same way everyday. He makes his classes interesting, he walks around the room using gestures, and he jokes around to keep the students engaged and smiling. It wouldn’t be a day in psychology if there wasn’t 75% sarcasm from him. And that’s my favorite part.

There has not been one day where he is not smiling and passing that smile onto the rest of us. Even with all of his other responsibilities, he makes us feel like his number one priority, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. He makes me feel appreciated and important. Thanks to Mr. Herriot, I have never been so engaged or excited in a class before. Mr. Herriot has gone above and beyond my expectations.