William Thomas is Maryland’s 2009 Teacher of the Year. Thomas, who teaches government at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George’s County, has a bachelor’s degree in social studies from the State University of New York at Albany and a master’s in reading education from Bowie State University. He credits his success to his parents, who strongly encouraged him to pursue a college degree although neither of them attended college, and encouraged nightly Bible reading.

What’s the most challenging thing about being a teacher?

I always say this job would be a cakewalk if it weren’t for the paperwork: There is a lot of grading, a lot of lesson planning, a lot of organizing. There are a lot of days when I work an average of 12 to 14 hours a day — I put in two to three hours every day after school, and sometimes before school, too.