In this week's Educator of the week we head to L.W. West Elementary where one 3rd grader thinks his teacher is the best he's ever had.

And Eric Dean nominated Mrs. Sharon Klem for a few other special reasons.

Mrs. Sharon Klem is teaching basic arithmetic to her 3rd graders here at L.W. West Elementary.

One of her students thinks she adds up enough to be educator of the week.

"I really wanted to show her that I really cared about 3rd grade and she was the nicest teacher ever since I came here for Kindergarten," says Dean.

And this nice teacher, doesn't even yell.

"If we get in trouble or anything she just calmly tells us to stop," says student Meg Tremblay.

Mrs. Klem says sometimes she has to take a deep breath to keep her patience, but it's worth it.

"I really don't like to yell at the kids because it really kinda puts them off and it ruins the mood of learning really," says Klem.

But there's more to this equation.

In Eric's nomination letter he says Mrs. Klem likes to tell jokes, but they're not always that funny.

"The kids don't think they're funny. I think they're funny!" says Klem.

"Some of the times I'm the only one laughing," says Dean.

Funny or lame, those jokes serve a purpose.

"With all the testing there's a lot of pressure on the teachers and the kids feel that, and if I'm making things light and fun for them, the testing kind of fades into the background," says Klem.

Subtract the yelling and add those corny jokes.

That equals the perfect equation for our Educator of the Week.

If you have a teacher, you'd like to nominate for Educator of the week, you can send us a letter to:
WBNG-TV
560 Columbia Drive
Johnson City, New York
13790.