Since 2017, Charter School Capital has invited written and video submissions celebrating exceptional teachers. Named the Dewey Awards—after Mr. Richard Dewey, a teacher close to our hearts at CSC—these stories speak about teachers who provided exceptional mentorship. Every year, we are flooded with a brilliant selection of stories told by students and charter school supporters all over the nation. One winner receives a gift of $1000 to a charter school of their choice. Although we only select one winner, each of these stories is worth sharing, so this week we bring you two stories celebrating the same teacher: Mr. Patrick Brown of Maria L. Varisco Rogers Charter School. One was written by Eliany, and the other by Alejandro Munoz.
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Sent by Alejandro Munoz
I started 7th grade at Maria L. Varisco Rogers Charter School and my first homeroom was 7-2. A few months later I was switched to 7-1 and reunited with some of the same classmates from sixth grade. However, this meant a new homeroom teacher which turned out to be my new Language Arts teacher. His name is Mr. Patrick Brown and he would soon change my life for the better.
Mr. Brown joined MLVRCS a year before I entered 7th grade and he really knows how to start with the right foot. I was so impressed how he handled students and personally liked how he had authority over his class and kept our attention. First day after I got switched, I said farewell to my old class and hello to my new one. I knew getting used to a new homeroom teacher would be hard since my previous homeroom teacher was great. Thanks to him I got more interested and focused in class. He turned out to be the best teacher I ever had.
I would definitely do this all over again because Mr. Brown taught me to like all subjects and get good grades. He sounded for real, paid attention to him, and I changed for the better. I made the Honor Society, and then this year I became their president. I could not have done any of this without him. Mr. Brown first taught me vocabulary basics and things of that sort. My grades improved to A’s and B’s for my first marking period which earned me a nomination for NJHS but not yet a confirmation. I kept working hard and followed his instructions which built a true connection with him. He was nice to everyone and cared most about his students’ learning. Grades got even better for the second marking period and I was so excited to finally be able to join the National Junior Honor Society. His congratulations mean a lot to me and I am so grateful for this.
I hope to return back to school at some point after we are allowed to. I want to go talk to Mr. Patrick Brown one last time to thank him for giving me an opportunity to bring my academics to the next level, High School. Thank you, Mr. Brown.
Sent by Eliany
On the first day my 7th grade class read the book, “The Outsiders” by S.E Hinton I thought it was going to be boring and uninteresting. Mr. Brown read the first two chapters and I was half asleep. Nothing about the book really interested me in the beginning, just another book about two groups separated due to their social class.
The next few days of reading, I was daydreaming while we listened to the audiobook. I was doing the comprehension questions for the chapters we just finished reading and I had to go back into the book to find all the answers. I re-read a few parts not noticing that I went ahead of the class, getting me pretty in-depth in the book. I went home that day and told my mom about the book. She told me that she saw the movie before and to check if my brother had the DVD version of the movie. Fortunately, he did! I put the movie on from my laptop and watched it, without finishing the book. I was pretty disappointed because it was missing many major parts. I went to school the next day and told Mr. Brown about it. I could tell he was happy that I was invested in the book now. I did my research and found the full movie. I ordered it and watched it.
We finished the book in class and ended up watching the movie. By now, it was my 3rd time watching the movie and I didn’t get tired of it. The book and movie touched my heart so much that I asked my best friend if we could make a fan page about it. On December 10th, 2019 we made the page from the love we had from the book. During the school year, Mr. Brown has seen my love for the book, specifically Ponyboy and found it amusing.
It is now October 2020 and the fan page now has over 2,000 followers. Due to that book, I love all things 80’s. I am now in 8th grade and because of that book Mr. Brown had us read, I have watched more iconic 80’s/90’s movies, changed my clothing style and the music I listen too. Additionally, I am reading more books by S.E Hinton and read the book or watch the movie whenever I am having a bad day.
If Mr. Brown had never introduced that book to me, I would be completely different. I’m now a sucker for the 80’s and without that book/movie I wouldn’t know what career I want. He is a very special teacher, and I am super lucky to have had him as my teacher.
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