In our society, teachers seem to be underappreciated, and as students it is important to recognize the ones that have meant the most to us in our lives. 

I’ve had a few amazing teachers in my life that have really influenced who I am now and that pushed me to do my best and grow to do what I love. 

My fourth grade teacher, who I knew as Mrs. R, was the first teacher that I ever grew a strong relationship with, she nurtured my love for reading and writing. We would have story time every day during class, all 20 of us sitting on the classrooms blue carpet listening intently to her reading. 

She would read us books with 300-400 pages; those were the first times I was ever introduced to chapter-books that size. Every day during silent reading, I would sit on the carpet and be enveloped in my for that half hour of class. 

Some days I wouldn’t even hear the bell that signaled the end of silent reading, and my teacher would let me sit reading for another ten minutes. 

I would always ask her questions about the books we were reading in class, and me and her would have discussions about the ones I was reading. 

I really appreciate her for the things she did for me, all the talks we had and the strong connection that I built with her.

In 10th grade, I had a chemistry teacher named Mrs. Lonon. No matter how rigorous that class got for me and my classmates, she would not let any of us leave confused. 

She was always there to answer everyone’s questions, even if it was a hard concept and you had to ask the same one three times.

She kept the class fun; we were always doing experiments and collaborating on projects that really helped our understanding of the material. 

If you didn’t like chemistry before that class, you did when you left. 

Now, moving high schools I’ve had great experiences with all of my teachers here; every one of them has been helpful and supportive. 

Last semester, I had U.S. History with Mrs. Stewart, and I was always happy to end my day in that class. Even though we weren’t in the classroom most of that semester, she always made the days we were there really fun.

We would do group projects, have fun learning material, and play interactive games at the end of the class. All helping our understanding of the concepts of the class. 

Lastly, ending on a seemingly biased note, Dr. Timmons. I’ve had him for AP Language for this entire year and for newspaper in the second semester. 

He handles our AP language class pretty well, whether it be the whole class threatening to walk out if he gives us another essay, or all of us complaining about the AP daily videos and how boring they are.

Every day, we have great discussions led by him that really help each of us gain new perspectives and develop skills for healthy argument.

And no matter how hard he grades our practice essays I know that every one of us either does, or will appreciate it, except for maybe Sara. 

In newspaper, we learn how to write better every week and how to become more creative. We have discussions about events going on in the world and our perspectives on them, and then how we could create stories about those events. 

Since being in his class, I can already see that I’ve furthered my writing and analysis skills. I can learn from every essay or assignment that he throws at me and develop from that. 

With all of that being said, take time to really think about the teachers who might have changed you or how you thought. Most of these people really care, try to recognize that in them and show compassion for what they do for you everyday.