Teachers of the year: Man with common name teaches with odd technique.

From: Decatur Daily (Decatur, AL) | Date: January 23, 2007 | Copyright information

Byline: Bayne Hughes

Jan. 23--Mike Smith is a common name, but Decatur High School's Mike Smith is not your ordinary teacher. Most sports fans know him for his success on the basketball court when he turned the Lady Raiders into a state power in the 1980s and 1990s, however, he continues his passion and dramatic flare as he pushes excellence in the classroom.

Smith is Decatur City Schools' Co-Secondary Teacher of the Year, sharing the title with Austin's Corky Vann. He could have followed the path of a typical coach, giving up teaching when he retired from the ...

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