Mr. Beckley is our school’s Earth Science, Intro to Chemistry & Physics, and Astronomy teacher. Many students say that he is their favorite teacher. I asked students what they would like to know about one of their favorite teachers and I chose four questions to be featured. Without further ado let’s get down to the story. 

Mr. Beckley was in many things when he was a high school student, but you may not expect many of the items on this very impressive list. He participated in football, basketball, track, golf, musicals, plays, choir, band, Students Opposed to Drugs and Alcohol, mentoring, Future Problem Solvers, and a couple of others, so he didn’t have much free time. But when he did have free time, he went with his friends into Iowa city to have fun or just hang out at one of their houses and play games.

As you all know we go through many different phases in life. You all wanted to know if Mr. Beckley went through any notable phases so here are your answers. He was involved in sports for a long time but really enjoyed fine arts as well. He considered himself in high school as a mutt, as he was a part of a lot of different groups of people. He went through a jock phase and a grunge/emo phase. He said he would get tired of looking and acting a certain way all the time. He would actively look for ways to change his appearance. 

We all have skipped school before, because of being sick or just not wanting to go. This is Mr.Beckley’s experience with not wanting to go to school, “I faked being sick in high school a couple of times but found that doing so caused me more stress than it was worth for the relaxation time. Also, I enjoyed being at school because of my friends and the activities I was a part of. In my last couple of years in high school, I had perfect attendance.” Many students feel the need to take a mental health day, but many never do it again because missing their classes stresses them out more.

I thought it would be interesting if we knew what Mr. Beckley would tell his high school self if he had the chance.  “I would go back and tell my past self to be kinder to others. I wasn’t ever mean to people, but I wasn’t so concerned with trying to understand what others were going through. A little kindness can go a long way for teenagers especially. I would also tell myself to really learn the content from my classes and to be braver about putting myself out there and asking for help. Instead, I had to relearn some things later in life, which definitely made it harder.“ 

These are some cool inside facts about Mr. Beckley, one of everyone’s favorite teachers. Be sure to be nice to each other because it can go a long way. Let’s try to all stay relaxed with our brakes coming up. Also, be sure to always ask for help.