A Letter to Ms. Daniels
By: Anonymous
Growing up, I revered teachers. They were the gatekeepers of knowledge and seemed to know everything there was to know any topic. Of course, I know now that educators are fallible like the rest of us. Despite this, I hold a deep respect for teachers that go above and beyond to try and impact their students’ lives.
While I hold gratitude for many of my instructors, the teacher that left the biggest impact on me was my middle school English teacher, Ms. Daniels. I can remember the immense drop in my stomach when she declared she would treat us seventh-graders like highschoolers on the first day of school. All of my classmates feared her, but as the year progressed, I realized that her pushing me past my limits revealed that I was capable of immense improvement. As my prowess for writing and editing grew, Ms. Daniels took notice. She went from praising my analyses in front of the classroom to bragging of my potential to her other classes and colleagues. Around school, I gained a reputation for being an impressive writer, and the continuous praise by her helped me gain my own self-worth.
Ms. Daniels had treated me as if I were her daughter, and always took time after class to ensure that I was taking care of myself. With that, I also earned higher expectations. Beyond pure academics, Ms. Daniels helped me hone my craft outside of school. I was encouraged to seek out alternate writing styles and as I submitted entries for essay contests, she would go through them and give harsh, but extremely helpful feedback. Like a sponge, I soaked in all of the advice she had given me, and by the end of middle school, my research paper for National History Day had earned a top nine placing in the entire state of Texas and a short story I had written won a local writing contest.
Ms. Daniels was the mentor in my life that opened doors for me, not only in the opportunities she gave me, but in helping me realize that the only thing that can limit me is my own self-perception.
While I hold gratitude for many of my instructors, the teacher that left the biggest impact on me was my middle school English teacher, Ms. Daniels. I can remember the immense drop in my stomach when she declared she would treat us seventh-graders like highschoolers on the first day of school. All of my classmates feared her, but as the year progressed, I realized that her pushing me past my limits revealed that I was capable of immense improvement. As my prowess for writing and editing grew, Ms. Daniels took notice. She went from praising my analyses in front of the classroom to bragging of my potential to her other classes and colleagues. Around school, I gained a reputation for being an impressive writer, and the continuous praise by her helped me gain my own self-worth.
Ms. Daniels had treated me as if I were her daughter, and always took time after class to ensure that I was taking care of myself. With that, I also earned higher expectations. Beyond pure academics, Ms. Daniels helped me hone my craft outside of school. I was encouraged to seek out alternate writing styles and as I submitted entries for essay contests, she would go through them and give harsh, but extremely helpful feedback. Like a sponge, I soaked in all of the advice she had given me, and by the end of middle school, my research paper for National History Day had earned a top nine placing in the entire state of Texas and a short story I had written won a local writing contest.
Ms. Daniels was the mentor in my life that opened doors for me, not only in the opportunities she gave me, but in helping me realize that the only thing that can limit me is my own self-perception.