My eighth grade English teacher left a big impression on me. She was so much more than a teacher; she was almost like a friend as well. Mrs. Simon was always happy to be in school. I can’t think of a better candidate for Educator of the year.
Something that made her stand out to me was how she knew a little something about each and everyone of us. She made it a priority to know our personalities. We were never just another student in her eyes. She found out that I loved to read, and we talked about our favorite books.
English was everyone’s favorite subject if they had her. She let us sit with our friends, but everyone would stop talking if she asked. She often purchased books for our classroom library with her own money. We always worked on things in groups which made it fun.
English was always my strong subject, but I was placed in a lower English class when eighth grade started. Mrs. Simon saw my grades and standardized test scores and asked if I would like to be in her Honors English class; I was so excited that she thought I could be in Honors! I accepted her offer, of course, and I went into the honors class; it was so much better because the students were mature and actually wanted to learn.
During the year, we learned about truly serious topics like the Holocaust. She told us the truth about what happened; she didn’t sugar coat it like most teachers would. She thought we were mature enough to know and treated us more like adults than 8th graders. One of her fun ways of giving us extra credit was, every time you heard or saw a vocabulary word you could tell her what it meant and then you would get a point of extra credit. She sometimes would say them in class; I think on purpose to see who would pick up on it.
Overall, Mrs. Simon is so much more than a teacher. I will always remember her as my favorite teacher. She made the English class the best class in 8th grade. When I look back on the whole experience, I know it will always be a very special memory for me. For all these reasons and more, I’m nominating Mrs. Simon for Educator of the Year.