Recognition

Everyone likes recognition. Everyone likes to be told that they are doing a good job. Well, working in public education moments of recognition are few and far between. Students aren't especially into saying thank you; however, at the National Honor Society Induction last night a student wanted to say thank you to me. Here is a copy of what she said, I have never been more proud to be a teacher or to have April Mullen as a student.

Whether I was working on one of my many APEX courses, playing a game of Bezzerwizzer, or discussing a deep, philosophical question about life, I have always enjoyed and looked forward to going to Ms. Manning’s class each day. Each moment in her class was a surprise and I had to expect the unexpected. Even though every student was enrolled in a different course, there was a sense of community in the room that broke the boundary of differences—it’s because of the teacher that this connection was formed. Classroom discussions ranged from international news to why Ms. Manning wore a pink shirt that day. Each morning, I was greeted with an uplifting quote accompanied by a colorful picture on the whiteboard. I spoke to people I had never met in her class; we were all like a big APEX family because Ms. Manning allowed us to create a perfect combination of education and socialization. I’m sure many of her students share my love of “Classic Rock Thursday.” And I’ll never forget the time when my second period class finally beat her in a game of Bezzerwizzer, marking us as one of the only teams or people to win against her. I felt like I could really talk to her and she became not only a motivational and inspirational teacher, but also a very dear friend. Ms. Manning was down-to-earth and energetic; no one ever knew what she would do next. She would tell it like it is and wasn’t afraid to show everyone who she really was. Failure was never an option in her eyes. She had high hopes for me and pushed me to succeed not only in APEX, but in all I did. Even after I graduate, Ms. Manning’s influence will remain with me for a lifetime. She helped me to discover who I want to be, who I can be, and who I am.