Taft High loses an outstanding teacher

Doug Taylor will sadly be leaving Taft High this year. He has been teaching at Taft High for 19 years and has been a member of the community for 20 years. He has taught every math class other than AP Statistics here. Mr. Taylor is also this year’s Robotics teacher and started the robotics program.

Taylor wants his students to excel in their studies. He feels a need to motivate them to succeed. Taylor feels his greatest contribution to Taft High is, “helping students develop a like for learning, especially in the field of mathematics.” Taylor feels that mathematics is one of the most important subjects at Taft High. This shows his desire to make sure his students succeed, “The thing that I’m going to miss most are the students that have a desire to learn, and you can see it every day in the classroom.” One of the best moments with his students, for Mr. Taylor, was when he taught AP Calculus, and more than one student passed the AP test.

Mr. Taylor has also worked behind the scenes to benefit his students and fellow staff members, stating, “I’ve tried to provide motivation for students and staff.” Mr. Taylor feels that, by moving, he has, “…let a few students down. Ones that were expecting me to be the teacher of Robotics and Calculus.” Mr. Taylor’s dedication to his students creates future success for them. His most memorable moment was when he volunteered for a fundraiser, and students bought tape to tape him to a tree. These activities prove his willingness to help others.

Taylor will be doing the same thing he is doing here, just in a different location. Taylor is disappointed with the removal of AP Calculus from the schedule. He showed this by saying, “One specific change that I dislike is AP Calculus getting cut.” Mr. Taylor feels teaching at Taft High has really helped him excel in his craft. His main concern with Taft High is the level of discipline he sees happening in the classroom. He said, “In my opinion, there really is no consequence for negative behavior in the classroom anymore. That’s not putting down the disciplinarian.” This is a concern that is due to his want of student success.

It is sad to see Mr. Taylor go after 19 years at Taft High. Taft High will miss him as much as he will miss Taft High.