Everyone has that one special childhood teacher. The one who you will remember till the day that you die. The one teacher among a dozen others who spent a year in a classroom with you and changed your perspective and helped you grow in a way you didn’t before. The one teacher who pushed the boundaries of the traditional education you had been brought up with. The one teacher who genuinely cared deeply for each of his/her students and consistently went out of their way to do all that they could to individually cater to each child. They were born to change the lives of her students and that is just what they do.
Teachers are one of the most important parts of growing up. As kids, we spend most of our time in a classroom. They have a huge influence on our daily lives. As elementary school children, we were never able to see how much we learned and depended on them. But we spent a majority of our elementary lives with our teachers rather than at home. It's where we learn to use the skills our parents and teachers taught us. Our teachers are the backbone of the school system. Too often, we overlook how important teachers are to our development and learning process. As a college student taking classes in education I have come to realize how much is behind the act of teaching and how talented our teachers really are.
My game changer was my fifth-grade teacher, Miss Ricardo, a true Hawaiian angel with a smile always present on her face. She is an artist, survivor, athlete, role model and, best of all, teacher. As a 10-year-old coming home from school every day, I’m pretty sure every conversation I had with my mom was about Miss Ricardo, and it was only a mere few weeks into school that my parents realized how in love with my teacher I was.
She created an atmosphere where everyone was comfortable and more like a family than anything. Everyone was encouraged to look out for each other and help each other reach the common goal. It's amazing to me how much of an impact this one person had on me as such a young girl. This teacher was my ultimate role model and, now, 10 years later I still reference her teachings and embrace her aloha spirit.
So I thank you. Thank you for showing me a whole new perspective. Thank you for keeping me grounded and making sure I didn’t take myself too seriously. Thank you for being the ultimate role model for me and all of our classmates. Thank you for being the amazing colorful, beautiful, unique, exceptional person that you are.
