Brian Barr – Social Studies and Language Arts Teacher
By: Andrew B., Rockford, MI

On my first day of sixth grade I was looking forward to a new life, new friends and a great new teacher, Mr. Barr. I had just switched schools, and so did everyone else. I was so nervous about making new friends and liking my teachers.

I had heard so many stories about Mr. Barr from my older sister who had him about four years ago. I walked in the door and knew that this was going to be a great year. He was hilarious and as awesome as I thought he would be. He would tell one of his “stupid stories” daily that would brighten up the day. He is a really big Michigan State fan, and it’s like a war between him and Michigan fans. He really connected with my class. I loved language arts and social studies.

We were getting ready for a spelling test one day. Then Mr. Barr tells everyone to stand up and form a circle. I didn’t know what we were doing until he tells us that we are going to play a game called sparkle. It is a review game that is really fun, and it helped me remember how to spell some words. He made learning fun, and I couldn’t believe it. After that we played sparkle every time before a test.

We learned that he was going to be a dad sometime in the middle of my year. We all decided to throw him and his wife a baby shower because of all the good times he gave us. The cake had a picture of Chewbacca on it as a joke of what his baby might look like. He received a bunch a Michigan State clothes and a lot of other neat stuff too. We all had a great time, and I knew I would miss him next year.

Many teachers don’t really care about what grades their students get and aren’t very nice, but not Mr. Barr. He was really nice and hilarious. His teaching style is one that I think other teachers should use as a part of their own style. He truly models greatness.