Daniel Burbank

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a special ed teacher because I have learning disabilities myself. If I didn’t have all the hard working teachers who believed in me and give me extra attention, school would have been a miserable experience that I might not have gotten through. I want to pass that on to the next generation.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I was working with one of my autistic children. He was not nonverbal, however his speech was very limited and all of his speech was very scripted. Without prompting he looked at me and said, “Mr Danny!” In disbelief of what I just heard I said “what” and again he said “Mr Danny!” I particularly screamed “YES!” And then he said “Hug!” And gave me a hug. That was the first and only time he ever said my name. The best thing about being a teacher is when the children surprise you like that!

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would definitely arrange a Uber fancy event and take all of the staff at my school Chapel Forge ECC. I would probably spend a chunk on a new car, cause the one I have has been giving me some problems. I’d also be remise if I didn’t spend anything on the classroom!