All Students Deserve a Mrs. Evans in Their Life by Brady

All Students Deserve a Mrs. Evans in Their Life by Brady - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

Every student should have a teacher like Mrs. Evans. I was fortunate to have her early in my school career. She was my first grade teacher. I was young so I didn't realize it then but she was a very passionate and dedicated teacher. We started each day off with a pledge vowing to be our best selves. I still remember reciting "practice makes improvement" and not the usual practice makes perfect. She didn't expect perfection but instead rewarded effort and progress. This sentiment has served me well, not only in school, but in sports and other areas of my life.

Due to her love of teaching, diligence, and focus on differentiation and acceleration for each student I was able to skip second grade math and head straight into third grade math. I am also fortunate to be in a school district that values differentiation and acceleration and has these opportunities for teachers and students to take advantage of.

I often think back to her classroom and an additional math program I was able to be a part of that was staffed by a parent. Each week students were called out to the hallway one by one to work on our math facts. This was something unique to her class as it was not offered in the other first grade classes. I now realize how much extra time and effort went into organizing this, finding supportive parents (Thanks mom!), along with the follow up to evaluate its effectiveness. This one-on-one attention put me on a path to excel in middle school where I was able to finish eighth grade in Honors Geometry earning high school credit. This advancement and encouragement fueled my love of math and put me on a great path for high school.

I'm currently in AP calculus as a junior and have been able to explore various engineering disciplines through several STEM classes. I am planning to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather and mother and pursue an engineering degree when I enter college. While this example focuses on math this was the approach Mrs. Evens took with all students in all subjects. We were all better off for it and very lucky to have had her. Earning an engineering degree will be the culmination of something that was started so many years ago in a small first grade classroom.