What’s Right With Our Schools: Bleckley County High School educator recognized for making a difference in students’ lives

BLECKLEY COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A teacher who is also a coach is being recognized for his outstanding performance in the classroom and on the courts.

Whether it’s inside or outside of the classroom William Basby is always looking for ways to help his students excel.

“He’s a really good person. I mean like he’s like more than a teacher to me, he’s like a real good friend,” says Austin Bergeaux who is a student.

Basby is a math teacher and a coach at Bleckley High School. He’s taken on two roles and had much success at it.

Confidence, motivation and dedication are three things he instills in his students to keep them on the right track. So far, it has been an effective strategy.

Bergeaux adds, “He makes learning a lot easier because he is a lot laid back and cooler so you know like in the classroom the words come in slow and I understand it so much better.As long as I study the way he tells me to, when it’s test time I go down there and it’s like I know every answer.”

Basby says, “Teaching and coaching is actually a pretty difficult task. It’s not one that most people like to do.I mean I feel like in order to teach, you have to have a love for it and coaching as well. You have to love what you do in order to be successful at it.”

Hanna Dykes loves to play tennis. She says the advice she gets from coach basby has helped her improve as a player and grow as a person.

Hanna Dykes says, “Pretty soon I’ll be going off to college and starting a new chapter in my life and the skills Coach Basby has taught me not only in school but outside of school, playing sports and everything is preparing me for this next chapter in my life.”

Justin Rozier who is student at Bleckley High School says, “He’s helped me so much like how to talk to people and like how to be nice and like if you want something done, how you got to approach people and to ask for it and in so many ways I can’t even explain.”

Basby says there’s no secret on how to get students to the next level. He says having an open door policy and talking to them to show he cares have made a difference.

“I always like to apply real world events like dealing with money. Money is something that drives kids. If you speak money it motivates them.So if you can involve money, explain to them hey in order to get money you got to get a high school diploma, you work towards college and then you work towards degrees and that will bring you money. So those are the main ways I try to stick with it in order to motivate them to excel, Basby explains.

The relationship and commitment to students is what makes educators like William Basby happy to do what they love.

Basby says, “If you set your mind to do something, nothing or nobody can stop you from achieving that goal.”

William Basby grew up in Bleckley County and says he is proud to teach students in his hometown. Basby coached the boys and girls high school tennis teams. They both won state championship on May 6th.