All throughout my education career, anxiety is a constant drawback when entering the doors on day one. Freshman year at Arrowhead High School started as one of the hardest for me to wrap my head around but I got through it. As sophomore year came around, it was a repeat starting all over again.

I can do this, I've done it before, I told myself as I approached the door. 

Mr. Rauch, my ninth grade English teacher, stood outside his classroom door waiting for everyone of his third hour students to enter. 

I walked in with a straight face, knowing English is not my strong suit. I sat down in my assigned seat and lost focus easily almost every day. 

Weeks go on, and days become easier. I walk into third hour knowing that it will probably be similar to every other day, talking, analyzing, reading … all beneficial to the understanding of a book. As I sat down, I felt today was going to be different.

Mr. Rauch has his desks set up in rows facing the front of the room, this made it easier for students to be able to focus and learn in a beneficial environment. Certain days he would cram half of the desks to one side of the room, and the other half to the other side so they would face each other. This made the learning process of Romeo and Juliet very coherent as it allowed each student to feel like they were talking directly to the others rather than to a SMARTboard.

Mr. Rauch had a way of teaching his classes differently from any other I sat through. Every day my first and second hour was a block class, as the third approached, it made my day feel more reprehensible and manageable because Mr. Rauch woke me up with the simple loudness of his voice. Although to most that may seem like a negative thing, to me, Mr. Rauch was engaging his students in a way that could be beneficial to them for the rest of their day. 

Mr. Rauch was able to engage his students with the tone of his voice which helped students wake up in the morning and be more able to absorb the lessons that are taught to each student after they leave his classroom. 

From teaching me English, to coaching me on the diamond, to smiling and waving in the hallways. I will never be ashamed to say that I was fortunate to spend my days under the teaching of Mr. Coach Rauch. 

Thank you Mr. Rauch for giving your all into the subject of english and engraving Netflix and Chill meaning into my head. Without you I do not think I would have been able to function throughout the entirety of my day without the, even sometimes subtle, aggression tone that taught me the ninth grade English curriculum.