Wesley Belcher

Twenty four-year-old first-year Morgan County High School agricultural mechanics teacher Wesley Belcher will be teaching only nine girls out of more than fifty students in his classes. Though he is fresh out of college, he’s not too nervous about being able to control his classes.

Unlike other teachers, his classroom is sparsely decorated save for several signs instructing students to “Wear Your Safety Glasses” and those that tell students “A Clean Shop is a Safer Shop” and “Your Final Test Will Be A Job.”

As he teaches students wiring, small engine repair, and welding, Belcher will make safety and hard work mandatory in a classroom where the motto is “Do it anyway.”

“I have huge expectations for my kids and myself,” Belcher said. “I have a plethora of knowledge for their thirsty minds.”

Of our first year teachers, Belcher will be the last to wake up on the first day of school, as his pants will be freshly pressed at the dry cleaners and his house is only half a mile from the school. But getting up at 6:30 a.m. may be hard for him as a recently graduated college student.

“I’m used to sleeping until 10 and 11 in the morning,” he said.