By Tamisha Curry

Inspiration is the process of instilling faith in someone to motivate him or her to do

something. Many people do things simply out of the kindness of their hearts and do not
realize they are inspiring others around them. You also have those that inspire from their
call of duty. They go above and beyond their call of duty, leaving an impression on
someone that is priceless.

When I think of a teacher who truly inspired me, only one comes to mind, my fourth
grade math teacher, Mr. Sylvester Hagan, at Brentwood Elementary School. Mr. Hagan
inspired me to make goals for myself, short and long term goals, not only in school
achievement, but lifelong goals. He was a very loving and caring person. He gave me
strength in my heart when I was going through a rough time in my life, having to move
from Brooklyn, New York to Jacksonville the year before enrolling into Brentwood.
After leaving my father behind, Mr. Hagan was just the father-figure I needed to help my
mother keep me on the right track. I always felt like my school, Brentwood Elementary
was my home away from home, under the leadership of Principal Cynthia Anderson. Mr.
Hagan always expected excellence from all of his students. He did not have to demand
respect; it always came willingly, because he modeled all the attributes before his
students on a daily basis.

He encouraged all of his students to get an education and to always strive for excellence
no matter what. He always discussed furthering our education and seeking a college
degree and becoming successful citizens. Mr. Hagan inspired us to reach our fullest
potential by sharing a wealth of knowledge and going the extra mile for us — staying
after school for tutoring, buying supplies for the classroom, giving us extra incentives for
our academic and behavioral achievements, and so much more. Although he was hired to
teach math, we learned far more than the fundamentals of math.

I honor Mr. Hagan for paving the way for me to become that GREAT student, college
graduate (receiving my Master’s Degree), becoming an elementary education teacher,
and being chosen as Oak Hill’s 2010-2011 Teacher of the Year.

Everyone gets drilled with certain lessons in life. Sometimes it takes repeated
demonstrations of a given law of life to really get it into your skull, and other times one
powerful experience drives the point home once forever. My educational experience with
Mr. Hagan was my source in receiving and maintaining that power!

Tamisha Curry teaches second grade at Oak Hill Elementary School in Jacksonville.