BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Byron Center West Middle School is where we find our newest Teacher of the Week. He started his career in business but went back to school to make an even bigger impact. Clearly, he’s doing just that.
“Very, very surprised. Unexpected. I was not expecting to walk through and see all the students. I actually thought I was walking in on some presentation of some kind,” said Ken King after walking in on the surprise.
Abby Kanitz is the principal at Byron Center West Middle School. She said she had to tell “maybe a few little white lies to Mr. King to get him down there but all in all nobody knew. So, he was definitely surprised.”
After the successful surprise, she said, “It’s exciting and deserved.”
King is an eighth grade science teacher at Byron Center West Middle School.
“That’s really cool. You do what you do every day to try and make an impact and often times you see hundreds of kids go through and you don’t always know the impact. So, to get the chance to get to be celebrated and feel that in a very real way this morning, is a pretty cool experience,” said King.
He’s now in his 18th year of teaching after making a change in course.
King explained how, “I originally went into business. I was in the marketing world for a little bit and went back to school to be a teacher just because I felt like I wasn’t making an impact in what I was doing.”
He’s been at Byron Center West ever since and said, “It’s not the same thing all the time.”
His science lesson on the day the 13 ON YOUR SIDE crew was there for the surprise involved Oreos.
“That’s what him and his team do. They make it fun for kids. They make it engaging so that they are excited to learn and be in his class every day,” said Kanitz.
King said, “It’s fun to just get the kids involved and hands-on and getting them the opportunity to have that moment, that aha moment of kind of discovering things.”
He finds unique ways to have the impact on students he’d hoped to nearly 20 years ago.
“That opportunity to really pour into somebody else is big part of this job, an important part of this job and it’s really a fun experience to have,” said King as he plays an important role in so many young lives.
“They have a huge impact and they’re a big part of these kids’ lives. So, it’s really important that they’re recognized. So, I appreciate you guys for doing that,” said Kanitz.
If you have someone you’d like to nominate as our next Teacher of the Week, just text the word “teacher” to 616-559-1310.
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