You never know what surprises 6th Grade educator Mr. David Naylor of Harris Middle School has in store for his students!
From holding a funeral for “dead words” to transforming his classroom into a living room so that students feel at home - Mr. David Naylor is filling each day with a sense of wonder and excitement!
You can guarantee it’s always going to be a day full of fun and learning in his classroom. That’s why Mr. Naylor is an Excellent Educator.
Student Addison Berry says, “Whenever I walk into the room it’s very exciting, because I know that he teaches in a really cool way.”
Mr. Naylor teaches at Harris Middle School in Bedford County. Inside Mr. Naylor’s 6th grade classroom, it feels like home and every day is something completely different!
“I teach English, Language Arts and Social Studies. I kind of got into education late in life. I volunteered for years, reading in schools. I was just doing it because I love reading, and I wanted to share that love with the children. I guess I was teaching and didn’t know it! I do things like taking my kids for walks in and around school, to show them things. I also send them on scavenger hunts. I try to walk a line between predictable and unpredictable. I’m always here with a smile, I’ve always got a plan, but they don’t quite know what I’m going to be up to,” says Mr. Naylor.
Mr. Naylor asks his classroom, “This is a very familiar musical. Does anybody know it? It’s The Music Man!”
“They don’t know that when they walk in the room, that they are going to be hearing '76 Trombones,' and they have to parade by me to pick up a piece of paper - and more importantly WHY they’re doing it,” adds Naylor.
“Today, we marched around the room and we took different parts of a thesis that had been split up. Then, we had to meet with our friends and find each other to create the full thesis,” says Berry.
“It takes time to plan these unusual things, but I think it’s worth it,” says Naylor.
Thank you Mr. Naylor for being an Excellent Educator!
