Inspiring teachers arouse passion for classroom
Sara Pollock / Reporter
Award-winning teacher Danny Magrans spoke about how
his experiences in the classroom affected his life at McCrary
Theater Monday.
Magrans won the esteemed Disney Hand Teacher Award in 2003
for his work as a humanities teacher at Clarksville High
School in Clarksville, Tenn. Margans, who teaches Spanish II,
III and IV, started his presentation with a video, made by
Disney, highlighting his work.
In Magrans’ classroom, students don’t just learn
the language, they live it, according to the video.
Magrans, who is married with two young sons, discussed the
importance of having a “reason, a method and a
mission” behind teaching. Magrans’ reason for
entering the profession is Richard Smith, his eighth grade
art teacher. “Richard Smith is my hero and I pledged to
teach because of him,” Magrans said.
As far as method, Magrans sees all the importance as being
in the message. “There are messages everywhere,”
Magrans said. “Some messages are intended for the
moment, some are intended for a lifetime.” Magrans
advised his audience several times to create moments that
last a lifetime.
Throughout his time on stage Margans demonstrated his
teaching skills. When he gave directions to his audience to
complete a small exercise before he began, the directions
were clear and delegated quickly and precisely.
Audience members recieved a blank note card before they sat
down. Magrans asked them to write down the teacher who
inspired them to be an education major on the card. They were
then to discuss the person with two different partners for
two minutes each. This activity energized the audience and
prepared them for his message.
Magrans, who has a bachelor’s degree in foreign
language from who attended Austin Peay State University and a
master’s degree in education and curriculum, sees the
club he helped establish at Clarksville High as a major part
of his method. “Teaching Spanish becomes the catalyst
to watching students do amazing things,” Magrans said.
He and his students founded HOPE (Helping Others Progress
Everyday) seven years ago. Accomplishments of this club
include sponsoring an orphan in Mexico and raising money to
purchase THOR-LO socks for soldiers stationed in Iraq. To
Magrans, challenges such as these serve as an extension to
the classroom.
“Students want to be challenged in their mind, body,
heart and soul. There just aren’t enough coaches out
there to help them,” Magrans said.
Magrans then ended his talk by asking all education majors
to gather at the front of the stage and state the person who
inspired them to teach. “The world depends on
you,” Magrans said after they had finished.
The event was sponsored by Elon’s North Carolina
Teaching Fellows. The Teaching Fellows is designed for
education majors to develop programs on their campuses and
help prepare them for challenges in their classrooms after
graduation.
Contact Sara Pollock at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247. | 
