Reflecting on High School

Although it seems like a lifetime ago, high school was the time in my life where I truly learned how to be a learner. This would not have been possible had it not been for teachers that inspired me and pushed me to always learn more. My favorite subject was always English, although it was quite a challenge for me. Science and history were always a challenge for me, so they were never favorites. In fact, my freshman English teacher tried to convince my parents that taking AP English might not be the best fit for me. This only made me persevere and try harder. Reading and writing were both subjects I enjoyed but had never been given time to explore these subjects and learn how to apply myself.

Once I stepped foot into my sophomore year English class, I knew it was going to be different. My teacher was full of passion and energy for teaching. She was everything that you would want in an inspirational teacher and you could tell she was so passionate about her content. Not only was she an expert in the field, but she knew that building relationships with her students was crucial to student success. She took an interest in me and found ways to differentiate her instruction so I finally felt like I could keep up with the AP course demands. Although she had high expectations, I was eager to please and meet those expectations. I felt safe in her classroom and knew that if I struggled with something, I could go to her for guidance. Although I'm sure there were negative things about her classroom and that school year, I can't recall any major negatives. She was the definition of an effective teacher and the one that I try to emulate while I am in the classroom today.

In my classroom, I work hard to build relationships with my students and find out what ignites their spark. A lot of times my struggling readers or ones who don't have an interest in reading leave my classroom realizing what types of texts they enjoy. I have found that by focusing on literacy and providing variety of text choice, my students are more engaged. This is something that I learned from my sophomore English teacher but also my professors. Similar to my high school teacher, I believe that every student can learn and it is a teacher's responsibility to meet the different learning needs of each child. I have had many teachers throughout my educational career, but only the master teachers stick in my mind. I can only hope one day a child feels the same way about me as their former teacher as I do about some of mine.