Mrs. Yao—caring funny, helpful, but most importantly caring. Mrs. Yao has been my Chinese teacher at Arrowhead Union High School for three years now.  Over this amount of time, she has became more than just a teacher to me. She devotes most of her lunch hours and free periods to help her students; everyday people come into her class because they cannot get enough of her. Though she is  5’, she is still as strong as an ox.

Mrs. Yao and I have especially grown close this year as I started to fall behind. She told me, “Come to my room during 6th period (lunch period) and come get some help.”

I did this for a few day and realized how funny, but feisty she can be. Soon .enough, she also invited my friends to come to the classroom so we could socialize while we worked on missed material.  

She shares life stories and advice with her students so openly. At the end of first semester of my junior year, my friends and I started to get nervous for finals. Day after day, Mrs. Yao helps us relieve stress by telling us,

“Don't let it stress you out, otherwise that will be why you do bad on the test” or “Don’t let one test or final exam make you feel so upset, it will all be over in just a matter of days.” Though these words may not sound uplifting, they helped my friends and me to destress and allowed us to focus on knowing the information rather that stressing about our scores.

Mrs. Yao has not only became one of my friends, but also a mentor. She keeps the students coming back every year by incorporating herself into her lessons. She makes our learning experience as positive as she can by letting us come up with stories out of vocabulary she picked. Although these stories may not be your typical fairy tail, it sure makes me and all of her students remember the impact her lessons have.

Mrs.Yao is not only and outstanding teacher, but also an amazing mentor and friend. She has taught me so many life lessons and has helped me get through many stressful times.