Mr. Joe Halligan

Mr. Halligan in 2005. (Taken by Deianeira)

My hero's name is Joe Halligan. He was my 5th and 6th grade teacher and has all the qualities of a hero, but the ones that stick out to me are strength, determination, and courage. Strength sticks out to me because it makes you respects him even more than you already did. He always used to remind us that he could probably hurt us with his pinkie. All in good fun of course. Determination stands out most of all because he never gave up on a student and still to this day never would. He also always made things fun, he was always determined to make learning fun, and he never failed. Courage stands out to me also because he was in the Army, and to me, that takes a lot of courage.

As my have seen in my first paragraph Mr. Halligan was my fifth and sixth grade teacher. Today Mr. Halligan lives in Billings, Montana, and is still teaching; he teaches sixth grade at Arrowhead Elementary. Mr. Halligan is a hero to me because when I was starting fifth grade i didn't exactly like school, and Mr. Halligan made it fun and to this day I still love school.

When Mr Halligan would teach it was always very easy for me to follow, even the most difficult subjects. He would always be willing to stay after school to give you a little extra help, if needed. He could always make you laugh, and he was the funniest teacher I have ever had.

Mr. Halligan in 2008 (Taken by Deianeira)

Mr. Halligan personally inspired me to love school and always be a good person. He helped shape me into what I am today. I think what made me love school the most is that in his class it didn't really feel like school. It felt more like a second home. He always tried to help us get along by keeping us in from recess and talking to each other. He taught me to be a kind person just by being himself. He always had a positive attitude and he is that best teacher I have ever had.

I have decided that I would also like to become an Elementary school teacher. I just hope that one day my students look up to me like I look up to him; I also hope that I have as much determination and dedication. Arrowhead Elementary is very lucky to have such a dedicated teacher teaching at their school, and I am a very lucky student to have been taught by him.