A good teacher can change your life. They inspire a student who’s struggling at school and in turn change their life at home. They can change your interests, help you find your passion, or even save your life. I’ve had some amazing teachers in my life. They shaped me and molded me and challenged me. So as I begin this next adventure of writing for Odyssey I’d like to tell them how they changed my life. Through what they’ve given me, I hope to inspire other teachers to continue to give to their students and students to learn all they can from their teachers.
Mrs. Fraser
Let’s set the stage. I was a dorky 12-year-old girl with giant red cat-eye glasses who was hopelessly behind in school. My family had just put me into the private Christian school a year before. The teacher I’d had in fourth grade had frankly thought I was a stupid brat, but Mrs. Fraser knew better. Her quiet reassurance gave me confidence. She took the time to teach me the things that I was behind on. She helped me pick out books at the library that she knew I would enjoy. She spent time talking to me about those books after I’d read them. I didn’t realize that she was helping me analyze the story or checking to make sure I understood the vocabulary. She made learning fun and subconscious. She would ask our opinions of the book and spark a discussion. When I didn’t want to go out to recess because the other girls were being mean she would encourage me. Mrs. Fraser's help was the reason I chose to play the flute in 5th grade band. She played in the symphony; it was something that I looked up to. I transformed that year. From a little girl who had accepted the fact that she was stupid to someone who knew they had the ability to learn.
Mr. Armstrong
This man is absolutely certifiably insane. Junior year of high school I walked into his classroom and left 50 minutes later more confused than I had ever been in my life. The best way to describe his teaching style is word vomit. He just talks and talks, nothing is connected, or so it seems. After about a week though you learn to decode him and then you realize he’s one of the most brilliant people you’ve ever met. I had always hated history so I had no idea why I was in AP United States History (APUSH, as it’s fondly called). I’ve always known I have trouble memorizing things, and Armstrong didn’t expect that from me. He expected me to learn. He was the first teacher I had who didn’t care what grade you got, he cared what you learned. He was able to show us how to create relationships between events instead of memorizing a list of facts. During the AP test I had a list down the side of my test of the order of major events in U.S. history, no dates, just the order. He knew how to make everything fit together, like a puzzle. Today, I use his strategy in every college class I take. He taught me how to study in a way that works for me. More importantly, he taught me that knowledge comes before everything else. It doesn’t matter what grade you get or if you can list all the presidents in order, it matters that you learned something.
Mrs. Espeseth
I hate math. Now, Mrs. Espeseth is a math teacher. She is a short little lady always running around for her kids and her students. I played golf in high school which meant missing two days a week for tournaments for the first three months of school. I had gotten a C in geometry and pretty much decided that I sucked at math. It seemed hopeless those first two weeks of Pre-calc. With Mrs. E. I was never in class and I didn’t understand a single thing, but Mrs. E believed I could understand. She had me come in before school, which became almost a daily thing. She would spend an hour of her prep time teaching me. She really truly cared. I worked my butt off in that Pre-calc class and barely squeaked out with a B, which Mrs. E made sure I knew made her proud. The next year she told me, “You’re taking stats." And that was that. She spent hours with me answering my questions and explaining things in every way possible until I understood. By will power alone I passed the AP exam at the end of the year. She had so much faith in me, she pushed me and she believed in me. She never ever let me say I was stupid. Her dedication still inspires me. While I don’t have to ever take a math class again (I know you’re all jealous), and I’ll probably never use the math she taught me in my everyday life, she taught me to believe in myself. Her dedication inspires me to be dedicated to my passions, something that can be really difficult as you hit dead end after dead end.
Ms. Stephanie Hill
Sophomore year of high school a petite blonde walked into our classroom and the first words that came out of her mouth were in French. The year before in my French class, our teacher had maybe spoken to us in French once a class but this crazy lady just kept going. She mixed French and English speaking a mile a minute. In the next three years, she made me fall in love with French. Her passion was stunning. We sang, danced, played games, and watched movies all while learning tremendous amounts of French. The one thing that everyone who had Ms. Hill came away with was a sense of global community. She always encouraged us to become global citizens, to look at the other point of view, and to constantly be open minded. I can’t even explain how much she’s changed my life but my second major is French so I think that speaks for itself. Even more than that, though, she saw the good in me. She pushed me to become involved in French club, she supported me in my role as editor of the school paper, and she never got mad when I skipped class (which made me skipping stop because I felt guilty). Ms. Hill transformed the French program at my high school. Before she came it was the “second language” that no one wanted to take. Now it has been recognized as one of the best programs in the nation. With her endless energy Ms. Hill pursued her passion. This is something that I will always aspire to in my life. The biggest thing that Ms. Hill has given me is her support. She still corrects my French essays for my college classes, she gives me book recommendations and emails me internship and job opportunities. She’s my biggest role model. Her passion and love that she has for her students is unsurpassable.
A great teacher leaves their mark on you. Most of the time it’s not their lesson plans or that super cool fact they taught you, or the easy A that makes them special. It’s their passion, dedication, and love. For those of you who aspire to become teachers, I hope you learned something from my amazing teachers. And for those of you whose passion isn’t teaching, remember when you find a great teacher learn everything you can because they’re a rare breed.
“Love what you teach, love those whom you teach.” – Stephanie Hill
