Mr. Destache

“I actually learned something from his class.” said my friend who I have known since kindergarten. He always had trouble in school and for him to say that about Mr. Destache’s teaching methods was surprising. Seeing “Mr. Destache” listed near the “Adv. Algebra/Geometry Block” class was exciting. At that time I only knew of him as my pole vault coach who knew how to make me better as a pole vaulter. This gave me the chance to experience his coaching and teaching abilities.

Around 12:42, I walked from North campus to South campus. I was a little embarrassed to be at South campus where all the freshmen and sophomores reside. In my mind, I was taking a lower than average math class. In Mr. Destache’s mind, however, his class was an advanced class, for advanced students willing to make an advanced effort towards an A..

As a teacher, he was open minded to the thoughts of the class. It was like a democracy. He was always willing to shuffle dates and make homework fit the schedule of a modern day student. Making us read out of the book and creating accumulative tests, he was conditioning us to be better not only at math, but as students too.

While sitting on a desk earlier in the year, he said he wanted us to apply the math we learn rather than regurgitate it back to him. This benefitted me for that year and the year to come...

Mr. Destache was not only my teacher, but also my coach as well. As he replaced the last beloved pole vaulting coach, the team was sour to his arrival. After awhile the support, knowledge, and enthusiasm he brought to the team was a perfect fit. He did not wear a crown and joined the pole vaulting family. The role he took in the family was not of the couch potato, but of the reliable elder.

There is not a law or statute that proclaims you have to teach and coach a frustrating sport. He does this in his own time and from what I have seen, he enjoys it. With his insight of projecting true knowledge to teens, he should be credited on that alone. To go even further, he coaches one the most bizarre track and field events: pole vaulting. Mr. Destache has respect for others as much as I respect him. He is not only my coach, he is also my teacher and my role model.