Going to school is never the most fun thing to do, and for a lot of people it comes down to what they are learning and how it is taught. I have been blessed to have so many amazing teachers as I went through school, and I couldn't ask for better.
I moved from a public school setting to a private school in sixth grade, and after having great teachers in elementary, being in a new environment scared me a little bit. This was mostly because I didn't know what to expect. But, within a few months, it wasn't so bad.
And, to everyone who has taught me, thank you. I know I'm weird, have a strange sense of humor, and can be socially awkward. So, thank you for putting up with that, because you all definitely made a difference in my life.
I can't mention everyone because this would be really long, but I'm grateful to all of you. But, there are some moments I do remember, which really meant something.
Our psych teacher, Mr. Pandolph would take time, mostly a few minutes, out of class to tell us that we were great students and just inspire us to not give up our love of learning. He'd even answer questions we put in a basket that looked like a Yoda head. The day we signed yearbooks was the day that he told me something about myself that he noticed. I hid myself in class a lot, and I knew this, but he saw how bright I was. To preference this, Panda would only give big meaningful messages to the seniors he had during yearbook signing, everyone else got a small, positive comments.
Other teachers who did things like this were Mr. Thompson and Mr. Sell, along with Mr. Underwood, Mrs. Tink, Mrs. King, and many others. Mrs. King is much like my second mother still, and was since she became my choir teacher. Mr. Underwood made me discover I was studying the wrong way. Mrs. Tink knew I could do well in math, and did not let me forget that. And then there is Thompson and Sell.
You both, I swear, taught me more than the subject itself, but in a different way than others did. To say the least, like Panda, sometimes it was not traditional, and that meant a lot. We learned life lessons, and none of you took our crap.
But, Mrs. Cooper, I will never forget your classes. You made us see science differently, and gave us great advice.
I owe you all a big Thank You because without you I probably wouldn't be the same person. Life is tough, but you made Shannon Forest my second home. I didn't feel like just a student there, it was more like one crazy family full of amazing people who cared enough to call you out and teach you beyond what was necessary. It's not every day that people are blessed with that.
