My first day of high school and I have to go to my least favorite subject right off the bat, Math. I never understood math while I was in middle school and all I could think about was how hard high school math was going to be. I walked into class that day not knowing what I was in for, but in the end I learned a whole lot more than I expected.

My freshman year I was placed in Algebra and to me it was stupid. I thought,”Why the heck are we using letters in math? Isn’t math supposed be numbers”? Then I met one of the nicest and most caring teachers I had ever had in Ms. Bonlender. She was new to the school just like I was. It was her first year teaching at Arrowhead and since it was mine to the nerves were setting in for the both of us. We both came in not knowing what to expect.

Those first couple weeks were a little rough for me. I had just found out my parents were getting divorced and math wasn’t going to well. Early on myself and some other classmates were a couple of troublemakers too. I remember being pulled out of class and being told if I didn’t shape up I would be written up. Obviously that got my attention. I knew then that Ms. B was the real deal. Ms. B could tell I didn’t understand the material we were learning and she went out of her way to get me to come in and get help. I remember telling her I would come in and then never showing up. Boy did I learn my lesson to never stand her up. She called my mom to let her know that I was struggling and told her I would come in for help but never did. That was strike 2 with Ms. B and I wasn’t about to get strike 3.

After a teacher calls your parents every kid thinks to themselves,” Wow I hate that teacher now”. I wasn’t thinking that though. Ms. B was willing to take time out of her day to call my mom and tell her about me. She actually cared about if I understood the material. So I ended up going into school the next day and in the first 20 minutes I was there, it was like doing simple addition and subtraction. It was like she had gone into my head and found ways to fit my learning style better. She understood what it would take for me to understand the material.

Ms. B knows what it is to be a good teacher. Someone who is a good teacher will be able to teach you in the classroom but also out of it when you’re looking for extra help. They know how to find your weaknesses in the subject and build on those weaknesses to help you understand better. They know how to make their students better at the subject they’re teaching. Ms. B fits all the qualities of a good teacher and that is why I’m nominating her for teacher of the year.