The walls of room 208 are covered in college pendants, inspirational posters and quotes.  Plants line the window sill with miniature gnomes hidden among them.  This classroom belongs to English teacher Delmar Bishop.

            His classroom is not the only thing that distinguishes Bishop from the rest of the teachers at Holy Family High School.  This self-described “short, plump and very handsome man” brings his knowledge and outgoing personality to each of his classes.

            Although he describes himself as a very introverted person, Bishop is generally outspoken in class.  He has been known to yell and jump up and down just to make a point to his students.  “I am energetic, happy and looking forward to my next adventure,” said Bishop.

            Bishop utilizes his sense of humor during his lectures to keep his students’ attention and to keep the class interesting.  He describes his teaching style as unique.  “I want to enjoy the day— [I] work my students but I also want them to smile and enjoy their day,” said Bishop.

            Bishop believes he is different from other teachers because he tries to see his students as individuals not as sheep.  “I feel teachers lump students into one category and try to strip them of their personalities.  Tough love is great, but smart, caring and understanding love is even better,” said Bishop.

            In addition to teaching English, Bishop also coaches football and track.  His coaching background is easily seen in the classroom.  Just as he makes his track throwers use heavier discuses and shot puts in order to be over-prepared for regularly-weighted ones, he gives his AP classes longer and tougher practice AP tests in order to over- prepare them for the real AP test.

            He tries to carry over into the classroom his coaching “work ethic, fun, discipline and the understanding that if you do one thing, it will carry over to other things,” said Bishop.

            Bishop’s favorite food is spaghetti and Coke, and if he were stranded on an island he would bring his family, his dogs and plenty of Coke to keep him happy.

            Bishop collects John Grisham books to read when he retires and he also collects garden gnomes.  According to Bishop, in addition to the “approximately 15 gnomes” in his classroom, he has 39 gnomes in his garden at home.

            He likes gnomes because “they are cute, happy creatures, plus they remind me of Tim Sullivan.  I like happiness in my life—plus it gives me something to do with my garden,” said Bishop.

            Although he is known for his humorous stories and fun teaching methods, Bishop has strong feelings about his role as a teacher at Holy Family.

            “We are here to teach, not to discourage, and to help them grow, not stunt their growth.  I was told early in my teaching career that a quality teacher is not judged by the number of failures but by the number of passes.  This shows you care, but you must use reasoning with each of the above,” said Bishop.