I walked in the classroom on the first day of school in the seventh grade and saw written on the board three words that changed everything for me: “Knowledge is power”. With Mrs. Fritz’s help, I quickly learned that knowledge truly is powerful and makes a world of a difference in the long run. I know that Mrs. Fritz deserves the title of Educator of the Year. She taught me so much in just two years at Mount Aviat Academy and is so much more than just my seventh and eighth grade English teacher; she truly inspired me to use what I love to drive me in academics. Even though she did not know a thing about softball, she showed me how to use the competitive softball mindset in class. She genuinely takes an interest in every student. She understands that school is not fun, but she shows you how to make it exciting. She did not just make class fun; she made learning fun. She pushes everyone to be their best, including herself. Her goofy personally can brighten anyone’s day.  Everyone can learn a thing or two from Mrs. Fritz.
       

Everyone told me how lucky I was to be getting Mrs. Fritz as my teacher. I walked out of sixth grade not knowing the difference between a linking verb and an action verb. It was not that I had a bad teacher or that I did not want to learn; I just was not benefitting from that one style of teaching. Mrs Fritz knew how to reach to me using things I really enjoyed and understood. She showed me that I can be just as competitive in class as I was on the field. She used things I actually liked such as music. She ditched the book and taught my class grammar using song lyrics. We started seeing grammar everywhere. Just something as easy as listening to the radio turned into grammar class. She adapted to everyone’s learning style.
     

Learning actually became really fun with Mrs. Fritz. She made subtle changes that made the class really exciting. Instead of just passing the papers to a classmate to grade, she had us dance around the room until the music stopped. She turned a simple act of passing papers into musical chairs. She turned a social studies final review into an Academic Olympics where we actually competed against each other. She enjoyed arguing with students over the correct answer until they understood it. I would come to her after class, and we would just argue about how to label a sentence. She knew that I was passionate about learning and really used that to help everyone. She pushed everyone to do their best and demanded hard work from everyone.
     

You did not even have to be in the same room as her to know that she was smiling and having fun with what she was doing. Everyone looked forward to English with Mrs. Fritz. She made songs to help us remember important things. Everyone who has ever had Mrs. Fritz still knows the jingle about the adjective and adverb questions.  There was never a dull moment in her class.
     

Mrs. Fritz knew how to take what you love and turn it into an advantage for you in the classroom. She connected with every student on a personal level. She made learning so much fun. I noticed that I started to take the studying and learning habits Mrs. Fritz was teaching me and use it in other classes. She challenged everyone to work hard and try, and we did. Her personality lit up the room. She truly was the best teacher I have ever and probably ever will have. I am so lucky to have had Mrs. Fritz as a teacher. Knowledge definitely is power. Mrs. Fritz is my nomination for Educator of the Year.