CLYDE -- Here, in the words of 13-year-old Brianna Smolter, is exactly why McPherson Middle School’s Bill Young is a great seventh-grade teacher:

“Mr. Young isn’t your ordinary teacher. He makes us laugh and keeps us out of trouble (as much as is possible with us.) He helps us to understand without making us feel stupid. He actually manages to make school fun. I used to dread getting up in the morning because it meant I would have to go to school. But now I wake up in the morning all ready to go right to my sixth-period Social Studies class! We play a lot of games and have a lot of fun, but at the same time we learn what we need to know. We also learn lessons that are worth more than dates and battles. We learn about giving our all and doing our best. About how lucky we are to have cell phones and computers when kids in other countries live so awfully. It makes us appreciate what we have and be content with our four pages of homework when others only wish they could go to school. …Mr. Young is not just a teacher. He’s a friend, a comedian, a peacemaker and a coach. All in the same classroom.”

Nobody at the Ohio Lottery can argue with that, and so the Lottery is proud to honor Young as our January Teacher of the Month for the Toledo area. As an Ohio Lottery Teacher of the Month, Young will receive four tickets to an upcoming Cleveland Cavaliers game, where he will be publicly recognized on the court. He will receive a prize pack of Cavaliers’ merchandise and assorted Partners in Education merchandise from the Lottery.

The Ohio Lottery will continue to recognize Academic All Stars and Teachers of the Month throughout the school year. For more information about the program and for nomination forms, go to www.Ohiolottery.com.