"I love what I do. I use a lot of humor in my teaching. We can goof off some and still do chemistry. I'm not quite as rigid as maybe some of the other Chemistry teachers out there. "

"The upside for me is that most kids want their driver's license, so they normally want to give me their best every day."

"Being around the kids every day in the gym and the weight room... it's my favorite. I love it when they compete against each other, but in a respectful way. We teach the students to compete. But we also teach sportsmanship."

"My favorite part of teaching is being around the kids. I never really wanted to sit in an office and just look at numbers all day. I always wanted to teach."

After 30 years in education, Mr. Gardner said, "I'm going to miss the interaction with students and the comradery with co-workers when I retire at the end of the year. "