I have never been good at writing. It's mostly because I have ADHD and it affects my English and reading skills. So like many others with ADHD, I was assigned to the special needs program, and I was treated as if I could not do a lot of things. I hated that. So in middle school, I acted like a teacher’s worst nightmare--I never stopped talking, I would interrupt the teacher and I  was just a rotten student. I was “being a rebel.” However, I changed when I transitioned to high school. Now,  I'm a much better student, and I'm even close to getting out of the special needs program. But I feel like the change started a little before high school. I think the change started in my eighth grade language arts class because of my teacher Mr. Fleshman. 

When I started the class, I had no idea what awaited me. The only reason I joined was because my best friend was in the class. We got our seats and were greeted by our new teacher--a rather large but tall man, with a neat greenish flannel button shirt, jeans, and a sharp hair cut. He introduced himself in a stern voice, and I won’t lie, I was  intimidated by him--I think most of the class was. After the introductions were over, he told us that we were going to start with a paper and a project.

At this point, my friend and I start goofing off, this was immediately silenced by Mr. Fleshman. “Shhh” or “be quiet” was all it took to make us stop. And it was at that point we realized something: Mr. Fleshman had an aura around him that said “shut up and do your work.” It worked and my middle school class was completely silent. I don’t know how he did it.

After a few weeks, everyone got used to the silence of the classroom, and the lessons were a lot less brutal than the first day. I didn't hate going to his class, but I didn’t love it either. A few weeks later, we learned when it was okay for us to whisper to one another, and when we were supposed to be silent. This is when his class became a little more bearable.

Then about halfway through the year, something changed. Mr. Fleshman talked more, he would even crack a joke every now and again. I don’t remember when or how it happened, but we all started to like him. Sure he graded hard and demanded silent work, but that made the time when we could talk even better. We even talked with him and he was totally cool with it. He loved the Packers and spending time with his family. He sounded like a different person out of school. It still blows my mind.

That was the main reason that most kids loved Mr. Fleshman. While I liked having Mr. Fleshman as a teacher, the main reason was the way he teached. His motto: no had holding, no compromises, and no getting off easily. And for me, that was all I could have asked for in a teacher. Instead of feeding me the answer, Mr. F made me work for them, and made me be independent. At the time, if felt like a foreign concept, but with time, I adjusted. And I feel that it was his way of teaching that started me on the path of wanting to be more independant, not just in school but with my life in general.

This might seem simple or insignificant to a normal person, but for me, it was the first time was was able to do things on my own, and I don’t know where I would be if I was not as independent as I am now. Who would have thought that someone teaching differently could have such an impact on someone? This will sound cliche, but I don’t know where I would be if I don’t take Mr. Fleshman’s class.