Rodney Anderson – Taylorsville High School

Mr. Anderson is the best teacher out there. He is such a kind man and makes class fun and exciting. He is my secondary 3 Honors teacher this year for math and it has honestly been the most enjoyable class that I have taken. The atmosphere in his classroom is uplifting and exciting, unlike many other math classes that I have been in which have a more dull and boring atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoy going to his class because it is safe and comfortable. If I make a mistake, his classroom is a good place to do it.

He is always very helpful in whatever you need to do. If you ask a question, he will take you through step by step and if you don’t understand it he will try to teach it a different way. He never makes you feel like you are stupid and that you aren’t capable of things. If you are working a problem with him on the board and he calls on you to help, even if you don’t give him the correct next step or answer, he will kindly say “well, I think it is… (whatever the answer is)” and then he explains why. Mr. Anderson will never make you feel bad for getting something wrong. Just simply help you see why it was wrong so you will get it right next time. He always makes you feel great if you do get an answer right. My favorite lines of his are “good for you!” “that’s right” “way to go”. Mr. Anderson is always willing to help you out, even if he could be doing something more important. He will always stop what he is doing to help a student. Even the students that are struggling he will spend the time with them until they understand. He also does tutoring before and after school every single day which is extremely generous and helpful.

Another thing that I love about Mr. Anderson is he is hilarious. He is the kind of funny where he just has cute little sayings to make you giggle and keep you paying attention. He is honestly one of the funniest people I have ever met in my entire life. Even when math is overwhelming, as soon as he makes a little joke or says one of his cute little phrases, he makes you laugh and it makes it so much less stressful. He is also very caring and kind. I was in a bad car accident about a week ago coming home from a school dance. I emailed him and told him I would be missing the next class due to my accident. I face-timed some friends in that class so I wouldn’t fall behind on any lessons and so I could keep up with the learning. I wrote down the problems he showed the class at home. When he gave them free time to work, I had a question and they just brought their phone up to him. He said “Oh well hello Emily! I’m glad you’re okay. What’s your question?” I asked it and he kindly helped me out even though I wasn’t there. He then asked me how I was and then the class ended. We had Thanksgiving break and when we came back, I was able to come back to school. When he came over to pass out the assignment he asked me how I was and if I was recovering well. I told him I was and then he was being silly and asked me “can you see me?” I was laughing pretty hard and I said “I sure can.” Then he said “good to have you back”. Even when I have to miss class for physical therapy and things he always asks me what they are working on and always throws in a joke to keep things happy.

Mr. Anderson is honestly the best teacher out there. If anyone deserves this award it is definitely him. He is kind, caring, helpful, funny, smart, and just overall a great person. I hope that you can see how great of a teacher he is and how deserving of this award he is as well.

–Emily Clark