Recently, South Campus calculus teacher Shane May received recognition from Stanford University as a part of their Teacher Tribute Initiative in which students may indicate a teacher or mentor whom they feel has impacted them in a significant way, whether academically or personally. Selected by recently graduated Pablo Absalon, May describes the impact of Absalon’s recognition.
“It’s really nice because he’s a really hard working student and … for him to stop, take a moment out of his day, to send something nice back to someone, who gave a little bit of time and was a small part of his growth process, I guess it really made me smile,” May said.
In addition, “Sometimes, not everyone in the world is appreciative of the small things in life. But for him to stop and say thank you, it really did mean a lot to me because it made me know that I was making a small difference in somebody’s life, and that makes me smile,” May said.
Most teachers try to provide a healthy classroom environment and memorable learning experiences to their students so that they can be successful in the class, but sometimes it even goes beyond teaching students how to take a test.
“I would say probably number one is to teach students to be self-sufficient, independent thinkers… to [have someone] give you that little nudge and then you just take off on your own and can run and grow and solve problems. And I think that’s probably number one thing for my class, just learn how to be an independent thinker,” May said.
Absalon appreciated the experience of Shane May’s class, as he expresses in his nomination, noting both the fun atmosphere of the class and the over-all positive attitude of Mr. May towards his job.
Mr. May certainly deserves this honor as someone who has and continues to propel students on to success by instructing them in some of the most challenging classes offered at Deer Park High School and giving them the tools they need to continue succeeding on their own after high school. Such was the case for Pablo Absalon, who chose to name Mr. Shane May as a significant positive influence in his intellectual, academic, social and personal development. For this, we applaud Mr. May.