Interview conducted by Elizabeth McKeough (Class of 2027) and Addy Zeller (Class of 2027)
Edited by Bridget Place (Class of 2030)
For this spotlight, we chose to interview Mr. Delke, both a teacher and a coach, to learn more about what inspired him to pursue teaching, what he enjoys most about working with students and athletes, and the lessons he hopes to leave with them. Through teaching and coaching, he has built relationships with students while encouraging them to become more confident, responsible, and resilient individuals.
What made you want to become a teacher?
I was still undecided on my Major during college and took an Intro to Teaching class. After being in a classroom and helping out during that class, I knew from that point on that teaching was what I wanted to do.
What is the hardest part of your job?
The hardest part of my job is when I have students who try to give up on their learning; it can be a slippery slope, and if they give up and only makes things worse. Teaching perseverance and learning from failure is a crucial lesson in my classes and in my life, but it is often one of the hardest parts to teach.
How do you build positive relationships with your students?
To build positive relationships with my students, I try to always listen to what they have to say. I try to be intentional about listening to them talk about their hobbies and what they’ve been up to. I also try to relate to what they enjoy, so we have that common ground. This opens up conversation and helps build healthy, positive relationships.
What do you like most about working at this school?
I love the sense of community and the size. Small classes allow us to teach groups throughout their entire education. For me, I teach in Middle School as well as High School. This allows me to build relationships and watch the kids I teach grow into young adults.
What has teaching taught you about yourself?
Teaching has taught me many things; often, it teaches me about myself through reflection as well. One of the biggest things teaching has taught me about myself is that I need to always be patient and listen; it is easy to lose patience, and when I do, I usually end up having to apologize.
What do you enjoy most about coaching?
The best part about coaching is seeing growth in my athletes, both in their sport and in their psyche. Teaching athletes how to better themselves through their sport and teaching resilience, respect, and responsibility can often be frustrating, but seeing the long-term growth of these characteristics and watching them become stronger young men for it is what I enjoy most.
How is being a coach similar to being a teacher?
They are similar in many ways; the most apparent way they are similar I would say is development. Both focus on developing an individual to set them up for success.
When you look back on your career as a teacher and coach, what do you hope students and athletes remember about you?
I hope that students remember the lessons I try to teach and emulate as I teach/coach them. The main things I hope they take away are: learning through failure, a positive mindset, a strong sense of self, and the importance of always trying to better yourself.
What is your favorite memory from coaching?
It is difficult to pinpoint a single moment as my favorite memory from coaching; there are many that bring me happiness and make me proud of our athletes. If I had to pick a singular memory, it would be the Playoff game against Marion in the 24/25 Football season. I picked this because it is the embodiment of learning through failure. At the beginning of the season, Marion beat us by a large margin. As we grew through the year and learned through failure, we had the opportunity to play them in the postseason. The same teams faced off, and we beat them to advance to a deep playoff run. This was the culmination of everything we, as coaches, try to teach our athletes.
What do you hope to accomplish this year?
I hope to make a difference in the lives of those around me.
Thank you Mr. Delke for participating in this interview. We hope you had a happy birthday ushering in the renovated Portager Stadium with a big win!