In a world full of strict teachers and monotonous work, one teacher stands out as a breath of fresh air: Mr. Kevin Curtis. Curtis is a beloved teacher at Harrison High School who began teaching here in 2005. Before Harrison, he taught at a school in Mansfield, Ohio in 2003, making a total of 22 years of teaching.
When Curtis was a Senior in high school, he played basketball. He got a new coach who started a Pee-Wee league, and Curtis was in charge of one of the teams. They were, unsurprisingly, not NBA level 3rd graders. But to Curtis’ surprise, he had a lot more fun than he thought he would. Some parents of the Pee-Wee team noticed this and suggested that Curtis become a teacher. At first, he dismissed it, but then more people recommended it. He tried out teaching and got hooked immediately. Where did this hook come from? The students. His favorite part of teaching. “The kids are still creative and imaginative.” He says. “I want my students to know I’m on their team.”
“He’s laidback, but you still learn something.” Said an anonymous student during an interview. “He makes me want to come to school every day.” It’s safe to say every student shares the same opinion (fact). Curtis is a good teacher and a good friend; he’s someone you can have a genuine conversation with.
After school, if he’s not coaching, he enjoys playing golf, reading, and playing video games. His favorite books are spy books, or anything by Dan Brown. If he’s not busy dishing out 187s on Call of Duty, he is launching homers in MLB the Show.
When asked about a piece of advice he’d give to students, he stressed the importance of time.
We only have a set amount of time, and we don’t know how long. Curtis is the type of guy to take a 3-hour, 100-dollar trip for his niece’s and nephew’s birthday parties rather than mail them a crappy gift card they’d never remember. True story. “Get busy living or get busy dying.” Curtis quoted from The Shawshank Redemption. Another piece of advice given was “Embrace your failures.” No one is perfect. Failures help you improve.
Curtis makes his classes fun and he makes it easy to learn. You probably won’t remember all of the amendments, or the work you did 20 years from now, but you’ll definitely remember Curtis.