WHITEHALL, Mich. — 13 ON YOUR SIDE is recognizing another Teacher of the Week. This time, we stopped by Whitehall Middle School to surprise another very unsuspecting teacher.
Principal Craig Thompson said, “I was super excited. Dan is an awesome person. He’s a great teacher.”
He was talking about Teacher of the Week Dan Meinert, who told us how staff members worked to get him out of the classroom for the surprise. He said, “I heard I had a meeting and I thought it was kind of weird in the middle of a class but the way they made it sound, it was like it was an emergency.”
“Got him out of the room and explained to students kind of what was going on and they were super excited and they had a blast,” said Thompson.
It was a successful surprise, because Meinert said, “No idea. This is so amazing.”
This Teacher of the Week grew up in Montague before graduating from Grand Valley and getting right to work in Whitehall Schools.
“It’s a blessing to do what I do every day. It really is because every day’s different. Kids are different. I learn something new every day whether it’s academically or about myself, emotionally or mentally some days, some weeks,” said Meinert, laughing.
The principal talked about Meinert’s history with the school, saying, “Dan’s worked here for a long time. He’s got a huge heart,” and added that, “He’s one of our high school football coaches. Puts a lot of time outside of school to continue that relationship building.”
“I don’t try to be someone I’m not. I’m very original. I like to go with the flow. I like to have fun with the kids but they also know there’s a line. Now it’s time for some learning and action to happen,” said Meinert.
The action he got while at school on the day of the surprise, Meinert didn’t see coming.
“It’s a great opportunity every day to come and work with kids,” said Meinert who also told our crew, “We do a really important job but it’s also very fun.”
“In education, you don’t always get recognized. A lot of times, students might come back years later but to have this recognition is fantastic and we appreciate that you guys are doing it,” said Thompson.
If you have someone you’d like to nominate as our next Teacher of the Week, just text the word “teacher” to 616-559-1310.
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