How do I want to be remembered?

By: Melissa Henderson
Woodland Middle School
Seventh Grade Language Arts

I remember my fifth grade year like it was yesterday. It was the year I met the person who affected my life in more ways than I am sure she ever thought was possible, Miss Strapp. I remember feeling safe, capable, and confident in her presence. I remember knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was her favorite student. From the day that I stepped into a classroom, I have asked myself the same question every morning: How do I want to be remembered? The answer to this question is at the heart of what teaching means to me.

I want to be remembered as a teacher who loved my students. And for me, this love embodies so many things. I have learned that first and foremost, I need to speak words of kindness and encouragement into their lives. This love means listening, laughing, and learning from their mistakes and my own. This love means celebrating their victories and mourning their losses. This love means patience, knowing what battles to fight and when to let things go. Most of all, it means making every child feel like they are someone’s favorite.

I want to be remembered as a teacher who taught my students to dream and dream big. I want them to walk out of my classroom knowing that they are capable of achieving anything. I want them to realize that nothing is out of reach, and the pathway to success begins now. It means pushing their learning beyond their limits and teaching them to accept the challenges they face both in the classroom and outside of our classroom walls.

Beyond the learning, teaching means loving my students and encouraging them to have dreams for their life. I know that I was first shown those things in the fifth grade, and for that, I am forever grateful.