My sophomore year in high school I was in Geometry. The teacher I had, Mr. Daniels, was also the Varsity basketball coach. I saw him day in and day out and though I personally did not talk with him much at first regarding math I saw his interactions with each of his players. He talked with them almost everyday to check in and make sure everything was going well with them. Also, he would make sure they stayed on top of all their studies so it would not become a problem for the team. Whenever any of them needed help he would make some sort of arrangement to help. By doing this he gained much respect from every one of his players.
Eventually my horrible math skills gave me some trouble on a certain lesson we started one week. It didn't get any better later in the week and Mr. Daniels knew I was struggling. He called me over to his desk and asked how everything was going. I told him it was alright, and that math was never my thing. And he asked if I had spent a lot of time on it. I responded with "A fair amount..." knowing that i went from right after school at 3PM to 10PM with poms to marching band to my dance studio, and arriving at home at 11PM and then starting homework was not the best way to learn and work hard. He then found out how involved I was in other things. He did not go any easier on me or show sympathy, he said I shouldn't burn the candle from both ends and was worried that eventually the flame would go out and it would not be a happy or healthy situation for myself. This showed me that he treated me equal as any student but still cared enough for my well being and the quality of my school work. It really was an eye opener and he continued to be involved and interested with almost all I did from then on out.
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