Everyone knows the story of Matilda, the extraordinarily bright young girl who taught herself to read to escape the reality of her horrible home life. Though school wasn't entirely what she wanted it to be, she found a friend--and, eventually, a family — with her teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey. Miss Honey took a special interest in Matilda, bringing her advanced books to read and supporting her, even defending her to her parents and the principal, Miss Trunchbull.

At the end of the story, Miss Honey adopts Matilda, giving them both what they truly wanted: a family.

Miss Honey is the type of teacher I think all teachers should aspire to be. She treats all her students equally and does everything she can to help them. Even though the school forbids decorations in the classroom, entertainment, or anything fun, Miss Honey still had her students decorate the classroom. She even installed ways to turn the classroom back to the way it was supposed to be, should Miss Trunchbull walk by.

In many of my education classes, it was instilled in us that we need to be "the one person" for each student. This means that we have to be educate them, but also be the person they can come to for absolutely anything. Whether they're having troubles at home, had a bad day, or want to share something exciting that happened to them, we have to be the person they want to talk to. Too many children don't have people they can rely on outside of school; so teachers need to make the classroom a place where they can feel safe, loved, and accepted.

This is exactly what Miss Honey does. Besides finding different ways to help all of her students learn, Miss Honey helped them feel safe in a place that didn't care about them in the slightest. She overcomes her own fears and her dark past to be the one person her students need her to be.

So if you're planning on being a teacher and find yourself wondering why you chose this profession in the first place, take a break and go watch "Matilda." I know Miss Honey is a high standard to aspire to, but it is possible, and the children we teach in the future will thank us for it.