Sixth Grade Transformation

By the time I reached Sixth Grade, I was tall, overweight, had stringy hair that I never combed, the biggest glasses you ever saw, wore shiny silver retainers on my teeth, and was the only 11-year-old girl who had been wearing a bra since Fourth Grade! I had a few friends, but they were similarly categorized into the "pathetic loser" group. I spent recesses dodging the popular kids and their mean remarks, which usually meant hiding in one of the bathroom stalls or faking an injury so I could seek solace in the nurse's office.

I was basically the biggest nerd you could think of. I wasn't the book smart nerd who studied all the time, though. In fact, I pretty much hated school with a passion and dreaded going each day. I would stall getting ready in the mornings with various tactics each day in order to purposely miss the school bus. Unfortunately, my mother was right there to drive me down the road to school, foiling my plans. School was so horrible for me, that I shut myself off completely- emotionally and scholastically.

On the first day of Sixth Grade, I entered the furthest portable on school property, Room 6, expecting pretty much the same torture and painful school experience as every year. This tall man, with dark, curly hair and mustache, and very broad shoulders stood up in front of the class and introduced himself as Mr. S. He had this large, goofy smile that was mysteriously infectious as I soon found myself smiling along with him. This rarely happened at school! His mannerisms and kind personality shone through him in a way that I instantly knew that I liked him...and that this year would be different.

When I was being teased by the other students, Mr. S would make them stop. He would regularly talk to the class about having respect for one another, which greatly helped to reduce the attacks on the "losers." He punished the class fairly, never with any bias toward the popular students. During recess, I could now stay in the classroom with Mr. S while he took the extra time to help me with my studies, instead of hiding in the bathroom. Mr. S would listen to what I had to say and helped me to feel better about myself. By the end of the year, I had more friends, was no longer being teased like before, and was outside during every recess playing with all the other students.

Sixth grade was also when my interest in the academic portion of school really peaked. Math, Science, History- I didn't like any of them, but Mr. S opened my eyes to how wonderful they could be! He was so enthusiastic about each subject and took great care to explain each of them well. He had the entire class captivated when he told stories of the Gold Rush and California History; we had our eyes glued to him when he demonstrated science experiments. It no longer felt like a chore to have to learn, we were more so absorbing the information that emanated from him. I was studying at night by will and chatting about the subjects incessantly with my family. That year, I received all As and Bs, but mostly As- this was another first for me.

Mr. S was my best teacher. He helped me to understand myself and be comfortable with who I am. He sparked an interest in academics that has never died down. I have taken his enthusiasm and zeal for education with me through the grades and still find it with me today.

-- Jackie J., American University