Loving and Living by Stefan Cook
As I walked down the crowded, noisy pathways
of Mountain View High school, I was somewhat nervous. I knew next to nothing about Jared Darby. He was relatively new, he helped out with Camp Everytown. Camp Everytown is an overnight camp in which people learn to be more open about themselves and how to be more tolerant of one another. That was it. I was walking with my friend Alex, who told me that he would be a great interviewee. As I step into his room, the first thing I notice was the color. This room is colorful and interesting. He is already rejecting the stereotype of an average teacher, I thought. I glanced at his whiteboard, and my eyes met what I could only call a cacophony of personality. Right at the top of the board, he wrote down his favorite quote by Bob Marley. The whiteboard was graced with a class poll. It read “which is more classy, a t-shirt, or a collared bro tank?” Right over the question, he drew a picture of each. From this, I could infer his youthfulness, as well as his unconventionality. In this day and age, it is imperative that students receive a great education. However, classroom education only covers a small sliver of the “curriculum”. There is a world outside the classroom that students must be prepared for. Mr. Darby, or Jared, as he preferred me to call him, helps blur the lines between teaching a simple subject, and teaching important life skills. To him, life is a journey, and he genuinely and passionately wants teenagers to successfully get by in life. Going along with this, Mr. Darby keeps a list of positive phrases right next to his workspace, or famous quotes that can provide inspiration. He encourages kids to come in at lunch and before school to receive math help from him.