Jacob Alkana is a geometry teacher at Coral Glades High School. Math is typically an area of struggle for most students, and the battle only becomes harder when the teacher is hard to work with. Mr. Alkana is one of the easiest teachers to communicate with, but what gets through to his students is how you can talk to him on a level where he respects you as an equal. Coral Glades has amazing counselors available for the students however some students tend to be intimidated by talking to the counselors. Mr. Alkana has been a support system for a lot of students. He has a way of connecting with his students personally, which also makes him an amazing educator as he can help students based on how they learn.
It is so refreshing to see teachers who aren’t just trying to get a paycheck but who genuinely want to make an impact on their student’s lives, and you can tell how much Alkana cares about his students. When asked when he realized teaching was what he wanted to pursue in life he said, “I believe my passion for teaching started when I was in the third grade. I have a picture of myself in a first-grade class teaching kids about the three little pigs. My passion grew stronger when I started volunteering at Young at Arts Children’s Museum in high school. While volunteering there, working with the kids and seeing them interact with all the exhibits turned my life around. They taught me a valuable lesson in life about taking the smaller things in life and making it so much bigger. From that day on, I knew I wanted to work with kids to show them how amazing they are and how they should all follow their dreams.”
A lot of the time you start doing something and tend to get tired of it. Not Mr. Alkana, every day Mr. Alkana comes to work eager and ready to share his love of math with the students of Coral Glades. “Truthfully the highlight of my job is the students. They may drive me up a wall 90% of the time, but to be able to bring them joy through my teaching and craziness makes it all worth it. Having them all come back to my class to visit me, tell me how their new year is going, and share with me all their accomplishments is an awesome feeling. Also, seeing them have the “ah-ha” moments of them understanding my teaching is such a rewarding feeling.” Says Alkana.
Mr. Alkana leaves his students with a piece of strong inspiring advice, “Always believe in yourself. There will always be someone who will try to bring you down and make you feel like you are not enough. You are all special in your way in this life. Build yourself up to be the best you possibly can.”
Mr. Alkana is hands-down one of the most loved and appreciated teachers at the school and has left a lasting impact on so many students. He truly enjoys what he does and he is more than just a teacher to so many students. Teachers like him are rare and Coral Glades is so lucky to have him.
