NEWBERRY, S.C. — We travel to ancient Rome with our next News19 Teacher of the Week.
Mr. Troy White is a Newberry Middle School teacher with a love for history.
“Always have been a history guy. I was not great in school. I barely slid my way out of high school. But it's a lesson that I try to tell them all the time," says White, "We talk about grades a lot and how that sets you up for different things down the road, even at this age.”
After serving with the U.S Marines during the first Gulf War, White spent 12 years as a salesman before becoming an educator.
“I taught fourth grade for a couple of years over at Gallman Elementary School, and I taught U.S. History over there, and science and math. And then I've come here, and I've had to teach math a couple of years here because of teacher shortages, but it's always been history every year,” says White.
But teaching didn’t come easy for White.
“My second-year teaching was not very good, to the point that I wanted to quit," says White. "From teacher evaluations to district evaluations and everything in between. Anything I can do to help them lessen that burden that they have those first couple of years, I want to do that.”
Now with a decade of teaching under his belt, White's students say he’s making history fun.
“He's so funny, and he's a good teacher. He teaches U.S. History. He makes his class fun," says student Justin Parker.
“I used to not be very good at history, but it's now my favorite subject. I'm not a very good reader, but he gives us a lot of reading work. And since it's history, it’s more interesting to read,” says student Taygen Hazel.
And when he’s not teaching, White also coaches football, archery and works as a teaching mentor, evaluator and bus driver.
White wants his students to one day help change the world
“A baseline of knowledge of how the world used to work. So maybe we can do something different down the road,” says White.
“He's a good teacher, and I want him to keep teaching,” says Parker.
If you know a teacher like Mr. White who deserves to be recognized for their hard work in the classroom you can nominate them by emailing us at TOW@WLTX.COM. Tell us what that educator is doing every day to go above and beyond in the classroom.