So, social studies and I are not the best fit for each other. I never really understood why I had to learn about history, and I never really understood it to begin with. But when I walked into my social studies class in eighth grade, I thought, this is just going to be another F on my report card. But that all changed after I met Mrs. Niemczyk.
I have never had a teacher like her before. She is someone who truly loves her job. She understands the students and helps them. Let’s face it, a lot of teachers don’t do those things.
My parents were going through a nasty divorce, and she was the person I could vent to. She would always ask me what was going on if I looked upset, and she would let me cry to her about my parent’s fights, or how hard it was that my mom was moving out. When I didn’t get my homework done, she understood and gave me an extra day. Things like that were helpful and she was always a fair teacher. She understood just how hard it is on kids these days to get their homework done when things at home aren’t that stable.
She was always so happy and bubbly, and joking around with all the kids. She had nicknames for us. We even made her little. None of us could pronounce her name so we adopted the nickname of Mrs. Nun-chucks. One of our last days of class, we made her a pair of nun-chucks and a ninja headband to remember us by. She put them on and started dancing around the room like a martial arts master, while we all laughed.
She listened to our problems, and she helped us achieve our dreams. She made class a fun place to learn. And she even cried at our graduation because we weren’t going to be in her class anymore.
Today, I still see her and she is always so happy to see me. She asks me how high school is, and what I am doing after I graduate. We still laugh about memories of our class, which seems like it was ages ago. Mrs. Niemczyk is truly a remarkable person, teacher, and friend. I have never had, and probably never will have another teacher just quite like her.