Why my sister teaches.

As we all know my sister made a concious decision to teach public junior high schoool math.

The adminstration (heretofore refered to as "the Dark Side") has decided to semesterize math. Which means on Monday she gets a whole new set of students that have had totally different math training and discipline from the other math teachers (heretofore refered to as "the Storm Troopers"). The Dark Side thinks this is a good idea and the Storm Troopers are going along with every whim of the Dark Side.

I disagree with the choice of the Dark Side to semesterize math. I think it is doing a huge disfavor to the students.

My sister doesn't teach for the money, she doesn't teach for the prestege, she doesn't teach because it's what her mom did. She teaches for the students. The following are excerps from letters her students wrote when they found out they must leave her class on Monday.

"This is the funnest class ever. You have been the best teacher for my whole entire life of school. I want to be your TA for next year just to be in the classroom. ...this class is the best class ever in the history of school."

"I want to thank you for being such a nice and understandable math teacher. In all other years I have failed most of my math classes because I didn't understand how they were explaining it to me. ...you take your time to expalin things...and I don't get frustrated. I hope I have you next year because I know if I do, I will have a good grade in math."

"Thank you for giving everyone a chance."

"What I learned in your class was the rules and to stop talking alot. I would like you to know that you teached me well and I like that and I will try my best to do well in math for the rest of my life."

"...you were the only teacher that I enjoyed. You made me understand math. I liked how you described things like if you push a wrong button on the calculator you said a world would blow up. All those memories won't be the same without the deadly duo like me and *Stephen. I can't think of one time you didn't laugh...Okay, maybe I can. I wish you can come eat lunch with me and all my friends again, that was really fun. Please write back."

"Thank you for being the best teacher that I have ever had because you have helped me when I needed it and you explain things better than any other teacher has ever done and you have just so much fund doing it. You are the coolest...person that I have ever met and that is alright in my book. I have had so much fun in your class..and that is what inspired me to be a teacher like you. I will never forget you...becuase you have been such a big part of my life in 9th and 8th grade. You would always help me when you didn't have to in 8th [because you weren't my teacher until 9th]. So thank you again from the bottom of my heart. ...I will try to visit you when I am in high school as much as possible."

"This letter is to thank you for your efforts in class helping me through half a year of algebra. I really appreciate the way you have taught me everything I know now. You did a great job to help me understand thing and do good on all my papers and tests in your class. I really did learn alot. I really wish I could stay in your class because every time you would teach something new I would be able to understand it. You taught very well and made math very easy for me. I really do not want to go to Ms. *Lee's 7th period. Thank you very much. I loved the time I spent in your class. I learned a lot and it wasn't hard because you did a very good job of teaching."

I'm very glad for people like my sister. She touches lives.

*Names changed.