Teachers and their wit by kathleen

Teachers and their wit by kathleen - June 2019 Scholarship Essay

Beginning of Junior year I was struck with the fact that it would be stressful. Obviously, everyone knows it is one of the hardest, but it's as if nothing can prepare one for it. The late nights, the stacks of endless homework, the lack of nutrition, the constant mental breakdowns, the consistent determination that gets shot down by every test grade, and so much more. I'd watch the Juniors before me and think "they're such cry babies," and then it came around for me. Honestly, I don't know how I made it out alive. The first response to that was my teacher, Mrs.Lentz, whom one day looked me in the eyes and just told me to close my book and take a nap. When I first heard this, I looked at her as if she had 4 eyes and a tail. To be honest, it was the last thing I expected to hear from a teacher. She saw my everyday struggle and wisely told me "If it is past 3 am and you are still battling homework, there's not enough coffee in the world to help you finish, you need to be rested for the next day so just go to SLEEP". This impacted my education because all of a sudden it was my goal to have my homework done at least before midnight or 11:30. The moments when I began to go to bed at 10:45 struck me and truly made a difference in my attentiveness at school the next day. Most teachers say "work hard... do everything you can to succeed," but as teenagers, we need sleep to succeed. We just got to high school and were handed a platter of responsibilities and were told "figure it out," which makes little sense at age 14. Mrs. Lentz really strived to help her students not feel so stressed and she knew that we'd all be okay. She watched me juggle: Theatre, Debate, National Honor Society, AP French, work, and home life. Teachers are known for their endless lectures and their corny jokes, and their lengthy lessons, but Lentz cared about her students emotionally. This allowed us to focus on her class without necessarily forgetting our problems but letting them sit still for a bit. Never was I once anxious for her class or painfully expecting it. There was nothing more than I needed than a simple "goodnight" and reassurance it would be okay.