Similarly, I also had a teacher, Ms. Wiseburn, in elementary school that completely changed my mindset about things; just as Mr. Fleagle had done for Baker. Baker’s teacher helped him change the way he felt towards English, and mine helped me to change my personality and to see things in a different way. Before I became her student I was in the third grade, and had already met Ms. Wiseburn through my older brother who was her student before I was. I had a pretty good idea of what kind of person she was already. She came off as a sweet, warm, and inviting person. She was everything you could want in a teacher. Luckily, the following school year she would become my fourth grade teacher. I was so excited and I knew that that year, I was in for something BIG. I went in her class as a student who didn’t have much of a drive for an education. I wasn’t a bad student, but I didn’t read much, I did poorly in math, and I never really strived to be better. Ms. Wiseburn would be the one to change all of that.
She was unlike many fourth grade teachers; her class always had the most Accelerated Reader points, and would win almost every class contest. She pushed us to read chapter books rather than picture books. That year I managed to read the entire “Ramona” book series. In class we read many books that were higher than our fourth grade level books; she knew that we had the potential to read challenging books, and we did. One of the books was called “The Giver”; it was a long book with very small print, but I managed to understand it, and passed the AR test with flying colors. I managed to earn 114 AR points and a spot in the 100 AR points club, something I had never accomplished. Along with that, my writing skills improved and my vocabulary expanded for that of a fourth grader. She saw that I was a poor math student and assigned me a tutor and would also help me herself. As a result, my grades sky rocketed and I was able to multiply and divide larger numbers with ease.
There’s one thing that she taught our class that I’ll never forget. As a ten year old, I learned about the Holocaust; something that would not become part of my curriculum until the eighth grade. Even then it wasn’t covered as deeply as when Ms. Wiseburn covered it. It was a subject that touched Ms. Wiseburn’s heart, and her actions were proof of that. She opened our eyes to the horrors that happened in Nazi Germany, and later almost all of Europe. We saw pictures, movies, and went through lectures and discussion. I remember when she was about to show us pictures for the first time. She asked if anyone wanted to leave the room in case they wouldn’t be able to handle what they were about to see; no one left the room. I was all absorbed into the subject and wanted to learn more and more. I learned about the systematic murders of six million Jews and other races that weren’t considered superior in Hitler’s eyes. I saw pictures of skeleton-like human beings starving to death, being cremated alive in ovens, Jews being discriminated, forced to live in ghettos until they were transferred to concentration camps, torn apart from their families, their living conditions, piles of dead bodies being buried in holes that seemed like craters, and much more. We watched movies like “The Devil’s Arithmetic” and other holocaust related movies. I was in awe that something like this actually happened, it really affected me. One thing I found quite funny was after learning about the gas chambers, I was afraid for to bathe with the shower head because I thought that gas might come out and kill me. I bathed using a plastic container, filled it with water from the bottom faucet, and poured it over myself. I bathed this way for about a month. Despite that, learning about this helped me mature earlier and opened my eyes to what is capable of happening within our society.
Not only did Ms. Wiseburn help me academically, but also outside of academics. I loved to sing, and at the time I was an Avril Lavinge fanatic. She encouraged my love to sing, and made me stand in front of the class to sing “Complicated”. I sang in front of the class more than once, including in music class. She loved my enthusiasm for singing and recommended me to the music director to sing with the Christmas choir. I was elated, I remember that year we sang the song “Silver Bells”. I rehearsed everywhere, in the shower, in the car, in my room with my Barbie karaoke machine, and after school Wednesdays with the whole choir. It turned out to be a great performance. That year I also gained a leadership role, I became a Gator Patrol. (Since our mascot was the gator) Ms. Wiseburn had, once again, recommended me. At first I had a problem being punctual, and the teacher in charge of the Gator Patrol got onto me several times. I was at risk of losing my privilege of being a Gator Patrol, so I decided I was going to be punctual from then on. I had to bug my mother to have me there on time, and she did. I recall that one morning I got to school early and sat down to eat breakfast in the cafeteria. One of the teachers noticed and pointed out to the head of the Gator Patrol that I had shown up on time. From a distance I could see him giving me two thumbs up and mouthing the words “good job”. During Gator Patrol we would supervise a hallway in the morning which we were assigned to. We made sure the kids in the hall behaved, and if they were exceptionally well behaved, we would reward them. I loved my role, and the younger kids that were in the hall I patrolled liked me as well. These were great experiences and had it not been for Ms. Wiseburn, I would have never had them. She knew I had potential and always pushed me to do better.
Before becoming Ms. Wiseburn’s pupil, I was a completely different person. I was prejudice, a little racist, and closed minded. My amazing fourth grade teacher helped me to see things in a different way. She taught me to look for the good in others instead of the bad. In doing so I discovered the best in myself. I became a better person who was more accepting of others and grew better social skills. I learned that we are all human beings, and that race or religion didn’t matter. I had a new perspective in life; I wanted to be successful and do something positive within my society; I wanted to make a difference. I hoped that someday I would impact someone’s life the way she did for me. She went out of her way for me and my fellow classmates, and for that I am forever grateful. She reminds me of the teacher from the movie “Freedom Writers”; a person who loved her students and whose students loved her back. She is an important figure in my life that helped shape who I am today. Being in her class was truly a blessing and a life changing experience.
