As a typical seventh grader I never thought that one of my teachers would have such an important impact on my life. I went to her class everyday and did all of her assignments, but it was not until I looked back on my educational career that I realize how much she affected my life. Mrs. Condon was my seventh grade English/literature teacher. I had known who she was because she had my brother a few years before and she was a friend of my mothers, who is also a middle school teacher in the county. I will always remember the warm greeting Mrs. Condon had as each student entered her room. When we came in she always had a smile on her face and would ask how each of us was doing. She always made sure she treated student with the respect they deserved, while at the same time demanding that same respect back. To me, she is a perfect example of an A+ teacher.
Mrs. Condon made sure that she got to know each individual student's personal life and personal academic level. I remember the first writing assignment she assigned was to write a personal biography of the important events in our lives thus far along with a person poster to represent us. On the date this assignment was due each student go to get up in front of the class and explain their poster. Then Mrs. Condon hung up all the posters. I remember really enjoying this assignment. It was the first time a teacher had used a large amount of class time to really get to know their students. It was then that I started to realize that Mrs. Condon was not like every other teacher. I knew that I could come to her with problems or that I could just talk to her about life in general if I wanted to. Mrs. Condon did not have any kids of her own, but I felt like she treated her students as her own children. Being comfortable enough to talk to her made me want to impress her with my work as well. I will never forget how hard I worked in her class to make sure I was getting the best grades I could. Compared to other classes that year I probably worked double time for Mrs. Condon's class. I never really liked reading and writing that much before, but Mrs. Condon always seemed to make our work seem fun. I remember reading The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn and thinking that it was the greatest book ever. After each chapter she had us write a prediction of what we thought would happen next and the person who made the closest prediction would get prize. It was here that she taught me that reading is a great way to expand your mind and use your imagination to its strongest capabilities.
Not only did Mrs. Condon teach me literature and writing, she also got me involved in current events. Once a month we were required to bring in a news paper and that day in class we just read it. I loved this idea. Being one that does not read the new paper very often, it gave me a chance to really sit down and read the articles. We did not have to write any summaries or report anything; she just wanted us to start getting in the habit of knowing what is going on around us. In addition I remember our final paper was not about a book we read, instead it was a research paper on a topic we felt was important to kids our age. She took us to the Anne Arundel Community College Library to find information, in addition to having us write letters to a professional in the field we were researching. As I recall this assignment was the first one to really show me how to research out side of the little school library.
To this day I still go back to my middle school to visit Mrs. Condon. We have kept in touch through the years, writing emails and having lunch every once and a while. Mrs. Condon made me realize that I really do enjoy reading and writing and helped me get better at both of them. She always put in extra time to help me one on one and gave me extra assignments, if I asked, so I could improve my skills. In addition when I got to higher grade levels she would give me advice on how to improve a paper or where I could go for what information. I still thank her for the enormous impact she had on my education and how she made me want to work with children. In my mind there is no teacher who could have guided me so much as Mrs. Condon. I look up to her and know that my education may have taken a different road without her. She is a mentor and a role model for all her peers and students and I am very lucky to have had her as my teacher.