From my personal experience, schools are one of the most criticized institutions in our country. Sure, there's the common talk among adults of how slow the DMV is or how inefficient hospital ER areas are, but none of those complaints ever came close to the level of discontent with our schools that I heard from my peers.
School was something that did excite me; however, as the grade level kept increasing I noticed that my excitement for school kept decreasing. In elementary school, school was something I often looked forward to, middle school made me feel "eh" about school and come around the summer before Freshman year of high school I was looking at school like a legal duty that I occasionally wanted to attend rather than an experience that would enrich my mind. Why? Well, it was because I had encountered experiences at school where I felt I wasn't learning much, that teachers weren't putting in the effort they used to, and where it was only a matter of learning something for the sake of a test without the intention to retain that knowledge.
I would often express this discontent with my peers and I was overwhelmingly received with the exact same responses. In my years of being a student (even now as a Freshman in college) I have never been told by a fellow student the following statement: "Our educational system is great." Never. Not one single time. ONE HUNDRED percent of the time I was instead met with phrases like "I'm not learning anything", "My teacher doesn't even care", "All we do is busy work", "My teacher doesn't teach." and other times, quite frankly, the occasional "Our educational system sucks."
It was saddening to see that so many students had such little faith in our nation's education system, and it was even more, saddening to see that it was an issue that wasn't getting fixed. Year after year, the way that students viewed schools only kept decreasing. Before Freshman year of high school began, I had already imagined what it would be like. I imagined I would have some teachers who would view teaching as a job and not a responsibility and I would be in an environment where everyone was just trying to get by and not have the desire to actually learn.
I'm glad to say, I was wrong. In the midst of all the negative talk about our educational system, I realized that those who were successful in making education what it should always be were getting lost in the general mentality and criticisms of students. Which is why, in the spirit of giving thanks, I'd like to say thank you to the high school teachers of mine that bettered my educational experience.
To my Freshman year English teacher, thanks for holding us up to higher expectations and teaching the class in a way that made me want to come back three years later to your Senior class.
To my Anatomy teacher, thanks for caring. Genuinely, thank you for caring about our education and for helping our creative side emerge. Yes, you were new, but you were great.
To my Government and Economics teacher, thanks for being you. You often joked about not being good at your job, but you made learning enjoyable and worthwhile. You were very good at your job.
And finally, to my English Composition and U.S. History teachers, thank you for not only being teachers but for also being role models, mentors, and people I knew I could trust. You made school something I looked forward to again. I felt at home in your classes. You were always patient and helpful when I most needed it, you were passionate about your job and infected me with that emotion, you were incredible human beings. Although, I shouldn't use the word "were" because truth is you still are all those things.
Yes, our nation's education system isn't something most students can say they're proud of but it's important to never forget that in the general bad there's always specific and individual good. It's necessary that we strive towards improving our educational system into becoming something that all students can take pride in; a system where both teachers and students receive benefits. However, in the process of becoming better, never forget what was good all along.
To my teachers, thank you!
