Teacher appreciation week: Mr. Reed

From Quentin Webert:

I chose Mr. Reed because he is different from all of the other teachers. Most teachers try really hard to make class interesting and fun, but Mr. Reed doesn’t have to try. By just being himself, Mr. Reed entertains all students and brightens the class’ mood no matter what. He will be a great teacher and poke fun at students at the same time. Back in 1st semester, I took a bite from an apple that he had on his desk. Obviously he knew it was me, so he pulled me aside and told me that i had to buy him two of the same specific apples or I’d be in trouble. To show my respect, I bought him a whole bag of the apples, which he admired greatly. Aside from his comedic personality, Reed also is very insightful and intelligent. Anytime someone tries to prove him wrong, he’ll attack you with intelligence and logic, in the most respectful way. Of all the words to describe Mr. Reed, the only one that seems to fit appropriately is; Dope.

From Joey Silver:

I, being the overachieving and awesome kid I am, decided that filling my senior year schedule up with loads of honors and AP courses was a good idea. I didn’t account for work, college applications, and other various activities that fill my day up. I also didn’t account for that terrible disease known as senioritis.

Senioritis hit me like a derailed train. I lost nearly all motivation to do anything school related. I just didn’t care anymore. I knew that if I got all D’s in my classes I could still graduate with a good GPA, so I just gave up.

Few teachers have impacted me as much as Mr. Patrick Reed has. His passion for botany and zoology really show, and it inspired me to put the train back on the tracks and start working hard again.

He’s much more than a teacher. He is a mentor, a lunatic, and most importantly, he’s a good person. He can take any topic and make it interesting and exciting. I found myself time after time correcting friends and family on their botanical mistakes, and even telling customers at Schnucks how awesome their fruit and vegetables really are.

He goes above and beyond what is required of him to make sure that students are getting something out of his class, even if they have no interest in it at all. He does hold his students to a high standard, but he holds himself to a higher one.

So thank you, Pat, for really caring for each and every one of your students. Your enthusiasm matched with your sarcasm makes zobot one of the best classes I’ve taken in my four years of high school. When I look back in 20 years, the memory of you and zobot will be a fond one. Maybe.

From Jake Roach:

Ever since my first day in ZoBot, I’ve always looked forward to Mr. Patrick Reed’s classroom. It wasn’t that kind of I-hate-school-but-this-is-the-best-thing-I-can-get-here type of looking forward either. I actually wanted to go to school just for that class.

Of course, Mr. Reed is an entertaining teacher, but his passion for teaching is his true selling point. I’ve never experienced a moment where Mr. Reed wouldn’t take all the time in the world to sit down with a student and make sure everything was completely understood, even going way out of his way to make sure students can have questions answered that are maybe a little bit more shy in the classroom.

However, my experience that took Mr. Reed from a good teacher I had to undoubtedly one of my favorites was a conversation we had one Friday afternoon.

I showed up to his classroom to check on a test and then head home. We started having a conversation like we generally do when I come in after school, but next thing I know, it’s 3:30 and I’d been talking to Mr. Reed for an hour.

I’ve never been able to sit down and have a full conversation with a teacher, and never really connected with a teacher, but that changed then.

There’s a handful of teachers I hold in high regard, and Mr. Reed is up at the top. I am truly thankful for not only an endlessly interesting year of science, but also a passionate teacher who is not afraid to sit down and just talk to his students. Thank you Mr. Reed.