Throughout my middle school career I have dealt with a numerous amount of difficult teachers. Some give out challenging test and homework assignments; others are just hard to cooperate with mentally. My seventh grade English teacher Ms. Fernald stood out among all the others. She treated everyone in our class with equal respect. I was especially happy due to the fact that she was my step-cousin once removed; nonetheless, she did not give me any specially treatment.There are many reasons why I have chosen Ms. Fernald for the Educator of the Year award; I’ll try to fit all of them into a five paragraph essay.

I believe the most important thing when teaching a group of teenagers is you have to show them that you're on their side not against you. Ms. Fernald did this in a way that I will never forget; she told us that life is a very hard and difficult task and it seems like everyone's against you. In reality, life is what you make it, sure you blame your problems on the system or those around you, but really you are normally the one to blame. Ms. Fernald told us that she would take some of the blame off our shoulders and help us forge it into something that makes us who we are. When she opened up to us on the first day of school, the class could tell she was treating us like adults rather than children.

Ms. Fernald had that easy-going aspect around her that just felt like we could talk to her about anything. Although as much as she was friendly, she gaves us a lot of homework, and she had her own unique way of disciplining the class when we misbehaved. We normally always had homework because she believed that this amount would prepare us for high school. If the class was getting a little out of control, she would assign more and more homework. Towards the end of the year we didn't have much, but in the first month we had more homework assignments than classes that September.

English in my opinion, was the hardest subject in school as of last year. Ms. Fernald saw that I was struggling in some aspects such as grammar and organizing my writing/sentences.

She knew I would never ask questions to slow down the class or come to her for after school help. So, one day when I walked into class, there was a paper laying on my desk that had ten websites listed on it; each one said what each website was for. It was all grammar and writing organization practices; I immediately walked over to her desk before class started and asked her how she knew I was struggling with these topics. She replied with a grin and said “I pay attention to my students, and remember that I'm on your side.” From that day on I knew she was going to be one of my all time favorite teachers.

In conclusion, Ms. Fernald had three major reasons why she is my favorite teacher. She taught us and treated us like adults. She let us have freedom, but not much and kept us in shape for high school. Finally, Ms. Fernald always would go out of her way to help a struggling student anyway she could. I believe Ms. Fernald should be nominated for the Educator of the Year Award for all these reasons and more.