Our journalism teacher just sent me a link to our on-line school newspaper. The newspaper staff each wrote a tribute to their most memorable teacher for teacher appreciation week. Here is what one of my student's wrote about me. I've disguised names, etc. for privacy:

"As long as I can remember I’ve always considered English to be my strongest subject. However, when I stepped foot into my junior AP English class I didn’t realize that my true writing and thinking skills would be put to the test.

Mrs. A is one of the teachers who pushed me to a place that I thought would be unreachable. She never doubts the ability of all her students to thrive. Our grades actually reflected the skills we possessed, and the time and effort that was put into them. My writing skills blossomed in that class and it was clear once we handed in our last essays.

Every day in that classroom was a fresh start. New material. New assignments. New knowledge. A chance to redeem ourselves if we had done miserably on an assignment.

I enjoyed that class because I actually wanted to go to it. I never got to the point where I was stressed or overwhelmed with homework because she found a balance. We still learned without being swamped with homework on a daily basis.

We would go from group projects, to individual assignments, to lecturing, to group discussions, but never the same thing. And I greatly admire that about her. She always found a way to teach us new things without it being the same routine. And it was never boring. She made me want to learn.

I thank her because it all paid off when I received my AP score. I am grateful for having a teacher who is truly passionate about what she does."

I am very touched.