Mr. Andrews

The first day of freshman year at Arrowhead High School, I searched for my first class: English. I was not looking forward to it. I sat down in an empty desk just before the bell rang. As the teacher introduced himself, I still remember the enthusiasm and excitement he had in his voice as he said good morning. He was short, had short brown hair, and when he smiled, it made me want to smile. His name was Mr. Andrews, and after that first day, I knew I’d never forget him.

Mr. Andrews kept things under control and on topic, yet at the same time, he made class fun. It still remains a mystery how he did it. One of the possible reasons is because he kept the class involved. For example, when we read Romeo and Juliet he had us pick parts to read out loud for the class. This was a far better option than reading by ourselves. 

But it’s not just what he did in the classroom, it’s what he did out of it as well. I remember walking in the halls and every time I saw him, he would say hi to me. I can honestly say that this made my day better. He would also tell the class if we needed someone to talk to about anything, even if it wasn’t English, we could talk to him. I personally didn’t need this, but the fact that he told us this shows he really cares for his students. 

My favorite memory of Mr. Andrews was sophomore year, second semester. I had English class ninth and tenth hour with Mr. Johnson. He was out of town so Mr. Andrews was our substitute teacher. It was the day before a break, and we finished the stuff we had planned. About ten minutes before the day ended, Mr. Andrews got up from the desk, walked to the back corner of the room and picked up the miniature foosball table. He then pulled one of the tables in the class to the front and set down the foosball table. Out of all the students in the class, he challenged me. For the last ten minutes of class, Mr. Andrews and I played foosball as the class crowded around us. He ended up beating me both games we played. We agreed on a rematch sometime before the school year ended, but it never happened, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little upset about this. That was, and still is the best day of school I ever had. 

After being in his English class, I realized maybe high school wasn’t going to be so bad. So, here’s to Mr. Andrews—a  kind, funny, and caring teacher. Thank you for making English class interesting and giving me a fun start to my high school years. I’m still looking forward to that rematch.