Throughout my school experience, I was never too keen on going. I hated being trapped in a room for an hour each and being shipped off to the next room. I could not stand being confined with people that I did not get along with. And don’t get me started on the teachers. They didn’t really care if you understood what they were teaching you; they didn’t care about you as a person, either. Most teachers just put on movies and ate their lunches or fell asleep and expected us to want to be engaged. But that all changed junior year for me.
I met two of my favorite teachers to this day. I had heard rumors before I took American Studies. I heard that Mr. L was a hard teacher and wasn’t as exciting as Mr. D. I was told that Mr. L would assign hard projects and would laugh when people made mistakes. And that Mr. D was never serious and didn’t really care what the students did. So my opinions were skewed on that first day walking into class. Of course, I still hated being with those dumb kids that I’ve been stuck with for years, but my teachers were different. They were there for more than a paycheck; they wanted to better the students and actually teach us for a change!
So Mr. L, thank you for showing me that history can be fun. That learning can be fun. You helped me tremendously. You made me realize that I could do it. Mr. D, you taught me how to be myself even if it was odd. You showed me that not all teachers have a hatred for their jobs. You also helped me a great deal. You both knew when I couldn’t handle it and kept pushing me to succeed.
The both of you created an environment that was safe and homey. I couldn’t wait to come to your class and learn about what ever it was that day. You gave me a voice when I didn’t want to speak. You threw me out of my comfort zone and let me stand on my own. I didn’t realize how much of an impact you had on me until I left your class and moved on. I saw that those teachers didn’t care either so why did you two? Why did you care about me and help me? I remember when you both were trying so hard to get the school to convert to tablets and Google Docs for everything. You wanted to better our system of learning and you got the tablets; granted they weren’t the best but I loved that you were fighting for something that you believed in. I never had teachers that were so passionate about what they taught and what they believed in. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for everything you have done for me and will do for other students. I am thankful that there are teachers like you two.
