Not going to lie… U.S. History isn’t one of my favorite subjects. Too much memorization, and, to my previous knowledge, there is no fun way to teach it besides notes and PowerPoints. However, I was proven wrong when I stepped into the class of Mr. Williamson.
The first time I saw Mr. Williamson was during my sophomore year at lunch when he did his Muppet dance in front of the whole school. This was his famous dance and students that were in his class saw it, and rumored of how funny it was. Consequently, all other students wanted to see it, and after much nagging he did it in front of the whole school lunch. He flailed his arms and legs in every direction and ran around. The students started chanting his nickname “Wu Tang, Wu Tang, Wu Tang.” The kids and teachers burst out in laughter and excitement. The next year, when I saw him on my schedule, I was ecstatic, because I knew I was in for quite a ride. Mr. Williamson didn’t disappoint and made U.S. history as cool as gym. He related to students in a way that made us feel like he was our acquaintance. In the middle of notes, he would realize nobody wanted to take notes, and he would tell us one of his crazy college stories. This would refresh us and always helped get everybody involved after listening and laughing to one of his stories. He was understanding when it came to homework and would always give us extra time if we had a complication and needed just an extra day.
Most teachers treat every student the same, but Mr. Williamson treated us with individual attention. Mr. Williamson is a comedian inside a teacher’s body. Every student that I’ve talked to has had a pleasant and fun experience when Mr. Williamson was their teacher. This is why I’m nominating Mr. Williamson for educator of the year.