The first time I heard about EOY, I immediately thought about my 7th and 8th grade Spanish teacher, Ms. Spurlock. Every day I would look forward to her class because of the fun I would have and the energy of the class. Ms. Spurlock always got students excited about Spanish and taught the subject with passion. In that class, you really got the sense that Ms. Spurlock was cheering your grades on and encouraging you to do better. She was one of the most encouraging and brightest teachers I have ever had, here’s why.

I went to HB duPont for middle school, and at the end of 6th grade, we got to pick some of our classes for the next year. I saw Spanish on the list and selected it first out of interest. Once I received my schedule the next year, I saw Spanish on there. My 7th grade year was Ms. Spurlock’s first year teaching Spanish at HB. She quickly became one of my favorites after many jokes and encouraging speeches. My favorite part of the year though was the Dia De Los Muertos, or the Day of The Dead. The Spanish holiday was about celebrating the lives of lost ones and giving them offerings. She always showed us interesting videos of the celebration, people dancing and graveyards covered in lights; it was amazing. That was the thing with Ms. Spurlock; she always made you interested and invested in her subjects.

One interesting project we did in her class was that we had to make a PowerPoint in Spanish about describing our dream homes. It was also a shocker to the class that she had made her own PowerPoint too and presented it. Ms. Spurlock treated us like equals. Ms. Spurlock was a great role model for students as well as teachers. She always gave creative feedback to projects or papers and always had us strive to be better. Ms. Spurlock also always spoke to the class effortlessly and talked in a comfortable manner. She was always great at public speaking.

When the end of 7th grade rolled along, we got to sign up for classes again, and Spanish was my first pick. The next year of Spanish was equally amazing, with more fun projects, new courses, and the same energetic Ms. Spurlock. At the end of 8th grade, students would have to take a Spanish final to pass, and I started to get nervous. Luckily, Ms. Spurlock’s teaching helped me and showed me how to memorize certain things for Spanish. So when the time came for the test, I felt prepared and took it. About a month later, during lunch Ms. Spurlock handed out the results of the tests, and she handed me mine with a smile. It turned out I passed the test, and the teaching from Ms. Spurlock paid off. 

Through the two years I had Spanish with Ms. Spurlock, I loved her class the most and always had the most fun there.. Those two years of Spanish I took now stand out to me as some of the best times I had in middle school and have inspired me to continue taking Spanish classes in high school.  Her class and way of doings things is something I will always remember and think fondly of. Her Spanish class was also the class I did best in, and it’s not hard to see why. For all these reasons, I am nominating her for Educator of the Year.