The transition of going from a child to an adult can be extremely awkward. The experience that I went through was a common, being that I think most people face similar circumstances at least one time in their life. It was by far my worst school experience. She helped all of us get through this very difficult time in our lives. Without the help of my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. S., the transition for all of us would not have been a smooth one. She always went that extra mile to connect with her students and she truly cared about their feelings and their development as human beings. Her actions have greatly impacted my life and she will always hold a special place in my heart.

Mrs. S. got involved directly with her students especially with conflicts between peers. Towards the beginning of the school year, I was caught up in a conflict with some girls in my grade. She took the initiative to contact my parents, and sent a message to the rest of the class to stop the petty fights that were taking place. As ridiculous as this sounds, it all started when I walked ahead of my group of friends to shelter myself from the rain on a class trip. My friends took that as a sign that I did not want to be friends with them anymore. From that point on, my life never was the same. Despite the struggles and pain that I had undergone throughout the year, I learned a lot about myself and the type of people that I wanted to associate with.

The pain that I suffered through the year was minimized with the help of my teacher. Mrs. S. was aware of what was going on without being informed by someone else. While getting her point across and directing the situation, she managed to stay away from putting specific students on the spot and showed her concern with the class' behavior. To this day, I will never forget the story that she shared with the class about her personal experience during her adolescence. Her story gave the underlying message that "what goes around, comes around," and students should treat others the same way that they would want to be treated. Drawing from her personal life also made the students feel more comfortable around her, because she was sharing a piece of her life with all of them. Mrs. S. went above and beyond her actual call of duty and made her stand out among the many other teachers that I have had.

Mrs. S. will always be the most memorable teacher to me because of the personal impact that she made in my life during a time when I needed someone to look up to the most. It was attending her class in sixth grade that made me realize what I wanted to do for the rest of the life. Her teaching will always be remembered and in the future I plan on shadowing some of her techniques and skills in my own classroom. One day, I would like to be able to make that much of an impact on students of my own.

Submitted by: Jean Hess, American University