We found Korey Abercrombie's class pondering
over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.
Such is the case with his English and Literature
class.
“You got Macbeth, writing, a whole lot of grammar
which kids think that's irrelevant, but it goes hand-in-hand with
writing, and a whole lot of drama,” Abercrombie explains.
But if you think the class is boring, you're
wrong.
“They’re pretty animated,” he says of his students.
Abercrombie works hard to keep his class interested
and smiling.
“One minute, he'll teach a subject. Next
minute, we'll get off task,” says 12th grader Kiara
Walker. “He’ll make a funny joke, make everybody laugh.
Next minute, (we’re) back on task.”
Kiara Walker may have the upper hand in this
class. She's practically a family friend.
“My mom grew up with him, so she told me a lot
of stories about him,” she smiles.
Oh what a tangled web we weave.
But it doesn't appear to have hurt Mr. Abercrombie’s credibility.
“It’s almost an honor to be in his class,” says
Janelle Wolters, another 12th grade student.
“The way he explains things to us, he relates on so many different
levels.}
Not too bad, considering Mr. Abercrombie didn't
choose to be or not to be a teacher.
“I think it chose me,” he says.
In fact, he didn't even choose the subject of
English.
“It was chosen for me,” he says.
But he did choose what to make of his English-teaching
career.
“I try to get through everything with everyone
understanding some part of this,” Abercrombie explains.
And he's helping his class choose where to go
next.
“He’s usually the person that gets our applications
out, deadlines,” Janelle says. “He’s very picky about getting
us to sign up for colleges.”
In his eight years of teaching, he's seen more
and more of his students go to college.
With so much good work under his belt, there's
no need to ask for whom the Golden Apple bell tolls,
it tolls for thee Korey Abercrombie.
Congratulations to this week’s MEA Golden Apple
winner.
