Teachers have important responsibilities of shaping the lives of young, easily influenced children. With this responsibility comes great pride and joy. A good teacher can be defined as someone who pushes students to want to do their best while at the same time trying to make learning interesting and creative.
Ms. Petoskey, my seventh grade teacher at Queen of Apostles was, and still is, the greatest teacher. She was creative with her teaching styles; every new day brought a new way of approaching literature, either with a game or a rap song about Mark Twain.
I must say, the kids in my class had short attention spans, but Ms. Petoskey kept out attentions. Her literature classroom had comfy bean bags and fun chairs to sit in while we read and our desks were always set up in unique positions scattered all around the room, it looked messy when you walked in the room, but we liked it! She let us choose which way our desks were situated and who we sat next to, but once we talked too much she would move us. She gave us freedom to make her classroom our home.
She was passionate about her job and letting us achieve our goals to become smarter more mature people. She let us choose what book we wanted to read next, which made me become more interested in books. For example, Maniac Maggie. It wasn’t that we had to read, but that we wanted too. By setting high standards, Ms. Petoskey encouraged me to develop high expectations. She was the most interesting teacher in my entire twelve years of school. Whenever she would present ideas about literature or poems, her eyes would light up and she would get so excited that I would be forced to listen to whatever she had to say.
Everyone told me she was a sweetheart, and they were right. She knew how to teach and was knowledgeable about the books we read. When it came time to make a diagram of Hucks adventure down the Mississippi, I found myself trying harder than I ever had. She always taught like it was her life. This helped me want to learn because I wanted her to know she really made me understand the subject she taught.
She always made sure everyone was having fun in her class and brought brownies in every Friday for our silent reading time. She was patient when we were out of hand. She was passionate about her job, which made me enjoy her class. She was always cheerful, which made me enjoy coming to school. Ms. Petoskey is the teacher I still visit and chat with (even after five years.) Ms. Petoskey is the teacher I can thank for making me enjoy reading!