- January 3, 2025
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David Bell taught high school theater, he once had a senior student cast in a leading role who was failing several classes. He talked to the principal to see if the student should be pulled from the show.
“She said, ‘No,’” Bell recalled in a statement to the Observer. “‘You and this show are probably the only reasons he’s even coming to school. If you take that away, we may never see him and there will be zero chance of him graduating.’ He was brilliant in the show and was able to make up his work and graduate.”
That moment has influenced the way Bell, Hinson Middle School’s Teacher of the Year, approaches educating students. A piece of wisdom he would share with student is to never give up — and teachers won’t either.
“Don’t ever let someone else decide what you are good at or not good at,” Bell said. “Every student is talented and gifted at something, you just have to find that passion and never stop believing that you are good enough.”
Bell, a graduate of the University of Florida, has been teaching for 16 years. Currently, he teaches theater at Hinson, as well as the journalism/yearbook class.
He decided to become a teacher thanks to his oldest sister, who owned and operated a preschool when he was in elementary and middle school.
“I remember spending so much time there, after school and on teacher duty days, and holidays,” Bell said. “Even at a young age, I really enjoyed interacting with the kids, leading games and activities and lessons with them, even putting on little plays with them.”
As a high school student, he had a great theatre teacher and band director who let students know much they cared — while making learning and school fun and interesting. They are his inspiration.
Recently, one of Bell’s former students whom he taught and directed in middle and high school made her Broadway debut in the musical, “Sunset Boulevard.”
His favorite thing about being a teacher is finding creative ways to teach different concepts and skills.
“It is rewarding when a kid that struggles finds a way to succeed because we didn’t give up and found a fun new way to help him or her demonstrate their knowledge and skills,” Bell said.
Being nominated as Teacher of the Year is one of the greatest honors there is as a teacher, he said.
“It validates what we do each day and being recognized by my colleagues means the world to me because it means that they notice that I am trying to make a positive difference in the lives of the children we serve,” Bell said.
