LEHIGH ACRES, Fla (WBBH) — At Harns Marsh Middle School in Lehigh Acres, it’s easy to see it with teacher Steven McGinley: he just loves his job.
“I just love coming to work every single day,” McGinley told NBC2. “We get to laugh, we get to have fun, we learn a lot both about life and academics. And so it’s really fulfilling getting to be here raising the next generation.”
Teaching 7th grade Civics wasn’t the original plan. McGinley actually went to law school before ending up in education.
The career move has given him the chance to work with both his wife, who teaches math at the school and his brother, a science teacher at Harns Marsh Middle.
“We’re kind of covering all the bases,” McGinley said, laughing. “We’re hoping my brother might get married to an ELA teacher and we’ve got everything there.”
For any educator, being able to reach all students – no matter how easily they learn – is an important skill. It’s something McGinley’s colleagues say he’s mastered.
“Steve finds their way, their passion for learning. And this way, he finds an area for them to have success,” principal Alex Dworzanski explained. “Most of our students haven’t had that type of success before. So he does a different type of learning in his classroom.”
“It makes me feel very, very proud to be his principal,” Dworzanski added.
McGinley’s students are proud of him, too. To them, he’s more than deserving of the Golden Apple.
“He doesn’t really focus on forcing a kid to do certain types of activities, and more focuses on their learning,” student Jaylah Amaya said.
“He’s a really good teacher and he’s really fun. And he takes his time with teaching kids,” 7th grader Maleah Parker added.
For McGinley, being fun and charismatic isn’t something he has to try all that hard to be. In education, it’s clear: his passion makes all the difference.
“When you come into this field, it’s because you love children,” McGinley said. “You care for them, and you want to see them be happy and successful as they grow up.”
