In late August of 2012, I started school at Brandywine Springs and had no doubt in my mind what the school year would hold for me. I had been going there for, what would have been, my ninth year. I had gone to school there every year, including kindergarten. But this year was different, the teachers were nicer and we actually had a male teacher, which in middle school is what everybody seems to want. My homeroom was filled with people that came to be my friends, including our English teacher: Ms. Blum. She was new to the school, but she was nice and was a huge contributing factor that made my eight grade year the best year of school I have had so far.
Ms. Blum was a memorable teacher. I still can remember some of the lessons that she taught our class, like Ann Frank, when we had to read aloud her life story as if it was a play. I can also remember us using the SMART board a lot (is that weird?) and StudyIsland, a website that helps you with any type of academic skill. We use to have to do that every week, and by the third or fourth marking period I was the first student done the entire English section. Ms. Blum also had a sense of humor and knew how to keep the class interested to the lesson that she was teaching. In class, we did more than just listen to her speak; we also did a lot of writing and different activities that attributed to why I liked the class so much.
The thing that made my eighth grade year so special was when Ms. Blum gave me a slip for my parents to fill out to see if my parents and I would be interested in become Leadership Ambassadors. It did have a high price tag attached to it, but overall it seemed worth it. Ms. Blum showed me a variety of schools were they would be hosting the Leadership Ambassadors Summit in the summer of 2013. To this day, I can still remember having to choose between a technology school that specialized in robotics and a chance to go to Harvard. This was a no brainer, if you asked me. Who would give up the chance to go to Harvard for a Leadership Summit? Harvard University is where I said I wanted to go and the decision was final. On a more serious note, I remember the day after we graduated; my parents pointed out that I had been so keen on leaving that I had forgotten to say the simplest two words that I could have said to one of the best teachers that I will ever have… I forgot to say: “Thank You.” It drove me crazy that I had been so foolish and caught up in leaving that I had forgotten to say some of the first words that I was ever taught. I felt very guilty and felt that an E-Mail to her would be the cheap way out.
This specific quality that was inside of Ms. Blum’s heart, and not in the heart of many of my other teachers, was that she supported me trying to become an author; it is a task that is not as easy as it seems to be. See, I had been writing stories ever since I can remember, but she was the only teacher that I really knew that I had an interest in the subject. Currently, I am more into the sciences, mainly theoretical physics and genetics, but I still do write a story here and there. I knew that she not only believed in me but supported my writing, was when she offered to edit one of my novels. I had written it a while back. It was generous of her to take time out of her busy schedule to do something for me. She was not just a teacher doing her job but a teacher that had a heart and cared. I did actually send her the story, but she never seemed to receive it. I don’t know why I never asked her about it; that is just another thing that I now feel guilty about.
Finally, I can say thank you to Ms. Blum for making it all happen. She was my spark; she was my beacon. She’s the only choice for me—my Educator of the Year. Thank you, Ms. Blum.