Jeff Donor: History teacher with eye on future

Jeffery Donor is a new Social Studies teacher here at West Florence. He is also now a Knight. This is Donor’s first time working at a high school, but he has taught before at other schools such as Moore Intermediate and Sneed Middle School.

Donor has been teaching for six years. He has not always been interested in teaching; when he was in school himself, Donor said he was not the best but he kept it at a “C.” He’s always had a love for Social Studies, Current Events, World History and Government.

Donor is also a big sports fan. He loves the soccer team “Arsenal,” and he also loves the football team the NFL team the Buffalo Bills.”

“It’s a rough life being a Bill’s fan” said Donor. He has been an assistant boys soccer coach at Sneed Middle School for three years. He’s going to be head coach at Moore Intermediate this year.

Coming to Florence was a big move and a game changer for Jeffery. Before moving to Florence, Donor said his life was like a retirement but it was just the beginning. Exploring most of the world, Donor has traveled to Canada, England, South Africa and Jamaica. Most of these trips were with his church, Highland Park United Methodist and were mission trips. He said they gave him a lot of experience and growth as a person. Outside of school he loves to just read, keep up with the world, and also with his sports teams.

Although Donor doesn’t have any children of his own, he tries to have humor and tell dad jokes to build an unbreakable bond with his students. He wants to help his students to open up if they are a little shy. Donor always has an open door to any child/student that’s in need of just a listening ear.

“I like helping students connect to the past in order to help them understand why the world is the way it is today,” said Donor. Each year, no matter what school or classroom, he wants to help students, have a bond with them, “live by a Golden Rule” and just to always have an open door policy.

“Quality, to me is a subjective term. When I think of quality, it is someone who puts forth their best effort to achieve something and strive to improve their future,” Donor said. “Quality should not be stagnant and should always be something one tries to better each and every day.”

As a Social Studies teacher, it might seem weird, but Donor tends not to dwell on the past and wants to move into the future, accept the mistakes that were created in the past and continue to move forward and see the greatness in life. He has always loved Social Studies and politics.

“Being a history teacher just seems to be a good fit for me,” he said.