Herr Strecker is a teacher who not only cares about the content of what he teaches, but also about his students. As one of SFHS’s German teachers, Herr Strecker has always enjoyed traveling and experiencing different cultures and languages. Guiding students to learn German while also sharing the language of his home country with students is his passion.

“It is a true privilege to work at a school where the entire staff takes great pride in what they do. Being named Teacher of the Year by those dedicated and talented peers is a tremendous honor. My challenge is now to live up to a title that could have gone to many other deserving teachers at South, first and foremost the other finalists,” Herr Strecker said. “I am fortunate to work in an extremely collaborative environment in the World Language Department and to have an administration that recognizes the value of teaching world languages. But in the end, I am only a good teacher because I have good students.”

With 14 years of teaching experience at a college level under his belt, Herr Strecker has been teaching at South for four years. His passion for teaching began at a young age. At the age of six, he helped a foreign student from Turkey learn about Germany’s rich language and culture. Thanks to his experience, students can say that as a teacher, Herr Stecker not only impacts their education, but also their lives.

“Herr Strecker is a good teacher because he makes such an effort to get to know all of his students, and because he wants us to learn the language. None of his classes are really focused on getting a bunch of grades – they were focused on teaching us to communicate. He also did an amazing job preparing us for the various German exams, like the AP, IB, and DSD exams. Because of his teaching, I am starting off in a junior level German Class in college,” South Forsyth Alumni Samantha Seely said. “If I had to pick a teacher that made the largest impact on me in high school, it would, without a doubt, be Herr Strecker, and I cannot think of a person more deserving of this award. His encouragement, guidance, and support were invaluable to me, and I’m eternally grateful that I had him as a teacher.”

Herr Strecker is also very involved in students’ experiences outside class. In the past years he has participated in German Club events such as the Christmas Market, Oktoberfest, and Osterbaum. His classroom is decorated with many German elements, further immersing his students in the German culture. His dedication to his students’ education impresses South’s staff and students.

“There are a whole lot of reasons why Herr Strecker was elected. First of all, he is extremely involved with students. He holds a high level of excellence in his content area. He goes out of his was to do a lot of extracurricular German-related cultural pieces so that students not only learn to speak the language but they actually embrace the culture,” Principal Laura Wilson said. “Overall, it’s who he is as a teacher and what he represents as far as being here for the students. His passion is teaching students, what he teaches students is German, but his passion is the students.”

Teachers nominated and voted for different teachers, but Herr Strecker has been found to be the best suited for the title. Herr Strecker is immensely honored by being chosen as South Forsyth’s Teacher of the Year. While this is true, he believes that someone else is more deserving of this title.

“Mrs. Wilson announced the results at a staff meeting in the PAC. I am happy and proud to be South’s TOTY, but I think my colleagues will agree with me that someone else is the real Teacher of the Year,” Herr Strecker said. “Sadly, that person left this world much too soon, so I accept the award on his behalf and will try my best to let his legacy inspire me for the rest of my career. Thank you for having been the teacher that all of us aspire to be, Mr. Hailes.”