Shaw Math Teacher Wins MEA Golden Apple Award

A Shaw High School math teacher who spends his Sundays giving students extra help is this week’s MEA Golden Apple Award winner.
 
He’s Eddie Akers. He teaches freshman math. In a nomination letter by one of his students, Akers is described as a teacher who is the first to arrive at school and the last to leave.
 
He’s taught at Shaw for ten years but has made stops at Carver and Spencer. Akers says the rewards of teaching often come years down the road. “It’s really rewarding when they walk across that stage as seniors and you see the change in those kids from when they were freshmen until they’re seniors.“
Akers had been a textile plant manager in South Carolina before heading back to school to pursue a career in teaching. He says he made the life changing decision when his daughter was old enough to start school.