There in life are some teachers who know how to inspire and creatively challenge young minds while still making learning fun. Allow me to introduce to you my life. I grew up with divorced parents starting at the age of 4 I belive. Yes that was hard and difficult but that began to spiral into my homework and tests as well. I was attending a private school at the time.

I didn't like the school very much because I thought that the kids were stuck up snobs and rich kids. I thought that they didn't like me because I was stupid. I did have a couple friends in elementry school. That wasn't it though. I kept getting a big redo at the top of my papers. I began falling behind slowly. I kept getting more frustrated and irritated every day because in the start of junior high I was told that I was falling behind and they wern't going to stop and help me catch up. They wern't helping me learn the materials. They wanted me to learn the way they were going to teach it to me and if I understood it then great and if not oh well lets move on and let you fail.

Now is that any way to help young minds succeed in life? I should say not. I began to lose confidence in myself and my life as well. My self image was really low and I was really tired of life. In January of my 7th grade year I was cheerleading for the school I didn't care for and we were playing a very tiny school. My mom had come to watch me cheerlead and started to meet some people from the other school we were playing. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was attending the small school. Scared of entering a world of the unknown, I didn't know what I was in for.

I am glad my mom had poked her head into a world of the known. This school had small class sizes, more one on one teaching and teachers that actually would stop and help you learn what it is they are teaching you so you can succeed in life. Now in my mind that was something I wanted very much because I had never had it. This school's method of teaching was such a new concept to me that I began to gain the confidence I once had lost. They began teach in such a way that broke down into the simplest terms for me what it was that was being taught. I learned what I needed at my pace and pretty soon everything began to click.

I began to feel something inside that I had never felt before. I began to make friends, gain confidence and finally graduated from junior high and I was on to high school. High school came along and I attended a catholic high school and boy was this really diffrent from what I was just in. I will admit high school was tough but I had this one teacher who really made the diffrence. She taught me a lot about life. She taught me the value of reading and the value of knowing what pre fixes of words really mean. Then she took her free period time which was also my free period time and would use that as study hall. She could have taken that time to get ready for her next class but instead she spent that time helping students who needed help with their other studies. I got farther ahead because of her and I learned so much more.

There should be more teachers out there who take the time to do what is right by helping other students such as myself. Not only did I learn so much from her I learned what it means to have such a passion for something that you'll take time out of your free time to help those who really need it. I am married now with two wonderful kids and I owe it all to those in my life who took that extra time to help me and all those kids who struggled just like me to succeed. For that we need to be eternally greatful.

Learn more about this author, Heidi Hauptly.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Creative teaching tools?
We want to hear your view. Write now!