Did you ever have a teacher that was more like a role model to you? Studies show that 65% of students look at their teacher as a role model. My seventh grade math teacher and middle school volleyball coach was Mrs. Oleksy, my role model. She was by far the best math teacher I’ve ever had and my favorite teacher figure. Mrs. Oleksy is still my favorite teacher even though I haven’t had her for two years. She always had the best attitude in and out of class. My favorite part about her was that she always made me laugh and smile no matter how bad of a mood I was in. There would be no better teacher than her to pick for this nomination.
First off, Mrs. Oleksy is an algebra 1 math teacher. She teaches at Conrad Schools of Science, as the seventh and eighth grade math teacher. I had her in seventh grade, so it was an advanced course for me; at the beginning I thought I would be overwhelmed by all of the hard stuff, but I never was overwhelmed, because she always taught me through it. Mrs. O was always willing to stay after school to help me, and I could always come up and eat my lunch and do homework with her. She never just put a video on the screen and expects us to learn from it; she stood in front of us and taught us every step.
She was also my middle school volleyball coach. During practices, we would always have a little teamwork drill to do, and even when we couldn’t figure it out, we still had fun looking stupid trying to do it. I loved that she dedicated her time after school to teach us volleyball, when she could be home with her family or grading papers. One year there was at least 25 girls that tried out, and I know she had a hard decision picking who she thought she could make better as the season went on. If we messed up, she would yell at us, but then make us laugh about it.
When devoting her time to both teaching volleyball and math, I’m surprised she doesn’t come to school tired and grumpy. Every day when I walked by her classroom, she had a smile on her face and something nice to say to me. When she saw that I was in a bad mood, she immediately asked what was wrong and if I wanted to talk about it. I loved when she would put little volleyball stickers on my test when I got a good grade, and I loved when she sang random songs in front of the whole class. If we didn’t have a pencil or pen to work with in class, she would be there to lend us one.
Mrs. Oleksy strived to make students learn and get good grades. All of her positive qualities reflect on her students and make their days better. Also, she always pushed the students to reach their maximum potential in everything they do. She is an amazing role model to look up to, and I can’t thank her enough for that. I appreciate everything she has done for me, and I wouldn’t be as smart as I am if it wasn’t for her. Mrs. O deserves the best teacher in the universe award for all of her hard work.