Studies show that second only to parents, teachers are the most important part of a child’s education.

Great teachers make a great difference, but poor teachers hurt a child’s life chances. A teacher can make or break a student’s life, according to cnn.com.

History teacher Thomas Papez has been teaching at Timberland for 22 years and has been making an impact on students as a teacher and coach.

“I challenge [students] to get better. I help them to think long term, and I give grace to those who need it,” Papez said.

Papez first wanted to become a teacher his junior year because of his English teacher.

“Mr. Hitchler was making an impact on students lives, and I wanted to make a difference in the world,” Papez said.

Papez teaches Western Civilization, from the Renaissance to World War Two. He also teaches Criminal Justice,  a class that studies court cases and has mock trials.

“He makes teaching fun and interesting, because he has a good knowledge of the good subject he teaches ,and he adds interesting, unusual tidbits when he is teaching,” assistant principal Dr. Keith Sanders said.

Junior Julia Papez, Papez’s daughter, said Papez uses humor to keep students involved.

“I like his way of teaching. He does a good job of explaining things quickly, and he is super like into it and loud and helps me remember stuff. He is also really funny,” freshman Bella Daws said.

Junior Abby Poss, who has Papez for Criminal Justice, said it is one of her favorite classes and recommends it highly.

“Criminal Justice is one of my favorite classes.  [Papez] is very old-timey, and he is very sarcastic. He is just a good man and a good teacher. He is just a funny guy. Also, he just lets us relate to him and he is not very hard on us at all so he is just a good teacher to have,” Poss said.

Papez said he has a lot of energy while coaching.

“I think he is a good coach, because he has a lot of good energy so a lot of people definitely take a good vibe from that and he can coach well. He really knows what he teaches,” J. Papez said.

Papez said his biggest accomplishment, though, is outside of the classroom: becoming a husband and a dad.

“I am glad that people would say that I have accomplished great things here, but if you’re not a good husband, or a good father, or good Christian it doesn’t matter,” Papez said.

English Teacher Bethany Fisher, one of Papez’s former students, said  he made a difference in her life.

“Mr. Papez was a teacher who was not afraid to share his beliefs, which was an encouragement to me. He also made sure that we knew that he cared about what was going on in our lives and that he was always there to listen and give advice if we wanted it,” Fisher said.

Papez said that he is proud of the climate that the THS staff and students have created.

“I can honestly say when I come into this school that [students] are walking into the best school in the world,” Papez said.