Teachers- the Aspect of Education I Value Most by Rubie

Teachers- the Aspect of Education I Value Most by Rubie - November 2015 Scholarship Essay

My tax-payer-funded education has been time consuming but definitely rewarding in many aspects. Which am I most grateful for? Though I am thankful for all the parts and pieces that go into education, I furthermost appreciate the people who do the educating –teachers. Teachers are people just like the rest of us –with lives, families, and grocery shopping lists- except they adopt thirty new children into their hearts every year. They educate their students on matters in and out of the classroom, and are a stand-by mom, dad, and/or counselor. I am most thankful for teachers –who are open-minded and big-hearted, who are stern yet soft, who can teach and learn. With high state-standards and student standards, piled on homework grading, and their own things at home- I hold these part-time educators, full-time super humans in high esteem.
Math has never been my strong suit, just as realizing that I shouldn’t take Advanced Placement level math classes after passing my last two with C’s, really doesn’t click. Junior year I took it upon myself to further push the boundaries of my stubborn, math-class-selection stupidity, by enrolling in and taking AP Calculus AB (I know crazy right?). I spent the year, trying to keep up with derivatives, integrals, and optimization- while enjoying the warm smile, sweet voice, and articulate lecturing capabilities of Mrs. Bramer. As a full-time teacher, and professor, she was always surrounded by mountains of work, but somehow she managed to keep smiling. She listened to all our whines and complaints (though it’s safe to say if it were contest, she'd win by margins as tall as her piles of paper), and told us anecdotal stories of her past. When the time came to sign up for the AP Tests, I told myself that I couldn’t pass a test so hard, and so long. But Mrs. Bramer believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. She encouraged me to sign up, putting her faith in me and my C-level math skills. Mrs. Bramer gave me the boost I looked for, and the confidence I needed- I passed.
What I’m trying to say is this: Teachers are more than their job description. The gratitude I have for these under-paid, over-worked teachers is immense. Teachers are educators of all things life and tests, they push you to your limits, they open your eyes to new horizons, and make you laugh when you want to cry. A year ago today, I was not a math-person. But today, I am a Calc AB survivor, and a Calc BC fighter- all because my teacher pushed my I-need-to-study-for-AP sleep-deprivation to its limits, opened my eyes to the possibility that I am a good math student, and made me laugh at her jokes when I wanted to cry about the homework. I am thankful for all teachers alike, and they are above all, the part of our education system I value the most.