The First Teacher to Make a Difference in My Life

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Here’s a story of the first teacher who made a profound difference in my life.

I was below average for all of elementary and middle school. Then my 6th grade math teacher mid-semester told me I was “too smart” for regular math and belonged in Advanced Algebra. I had never had anyone think I was exceptional or particularly smart, so this was a shock.

I was terrified to be in Advanced Algebra for the first few weeks. I was among the smartest kids in my school, so I knew I had to try harder just to stay afloat. So I did. After a couple of months, I was scoring toward the top of class. Finally one week I was had the high score for the class.

My old math teacher tracked me down to tell me that she had heard about my achievement. “See, I knew you belonged there.”

She set me on a different path and I don’t even remember her name. But I’m a teacher now, and thank her for her example on the regular.

CREDIT: AI-generated image from Adobe Express