Vy wrote a fantastic post about our last year's teacher, Mrs. Valdez, and I very much agree with her opinions.
"She just wanted use to express ourselves as a student and help us find the bigger meaning in everything. One of the best thing about class was whenever anyone in the class would say something deep or say something she likes, she would go “mmmmm interesting” or “oooh i like! say more.”Freshman English would not be the same without Valdez and without her it would not be so
memorable."
Although she was a very hard teacher, Mrs. Valdez was indeed a great teacher. She gave out tons of homework assignments, including reading two to three chapters every night, completing dialectical journals, vocabulary sheets, writing papers in a one week spam, and we had a quiz on what we read the next day. Mrs. Valdez pushed us to the fullest potential and I am grateful for that. Before I was in her class, I sucked at writing really bad. She opened a whole new perspective of analyzing books for me. We always had to find a deeper meaning to the contexts. It took a while for me to get the hang of it, but when you do find the deeper meaning it is exciting because then I have so much to say in my writing. I began to like finding deeper meanings in books and intergrate it into my own writing. If she had not pushed us with all her work and efforts, I will not be able to write like I do today. Furthermore, Mrs. Valdez was a funny person. The stuff she does and says sometimes is hilarious.
I am most touched about the gifts she gave us in the subsequent year when she had to leave. She gave us a small little paper bag with materials inside that she called "ASTI Survival Kit". Inside included a Dum Dum lollypop, a paperclip, a safety pin, smarties, a pencil, a cut out heart, a book mark, clay, plastic mirror, and others. Even though they were not worth much, the meaning behind them is immense. The meanings were typed on a tiny paper. For example, the mirror says: "This is the solution to all of your problems. Here, you will find the answer to your deepest, darkest questions." The pencil: "Maybe you are a recycled soul. Maybe you are born a new spirit. Maybe your life has already been written. It does not matter what your belief is. Don't let things outside of yourself control your life. Live each day as if you were the author of your own story. Take what you have been given and make the most out of it. She says the most important item was the ring because it was our commitment to ourselves... We also received a letter of encouragement from the juniors or seniors. It was such a cute and thoughtful gift.
I have learned a sufficient amount from her.
I am most touched about the gifts she gave us in the subsequent year when she had to leave. She gave us a small little paper bag with materials inside that she called "ASTI Survival Kit". Inside included a Dum Dum lollypop, a paperclip, a safety pin, smarties, a pencil, a cut out heart, a book mark, clay, plastic mirror, and others. Even though they were not worth much, the meaning behind them is immense. The meanings were typed on a tiny paper. For example, the mirror says: "This is the solution to all of your problems. Here, you will find the answer to your deepest, darkest questions." The pencil: "Maybe you are a recycled soul. Maybe you are born a new spirit. Maybe your life has already been written. It does not matter what your belief is. Don't let things outside of yourself control your life. Live each day as if you were the author of your own story. Take what you have been given and make the most out of it. She says the most important item was the ring because it was our commitment to ourselves... We also received a letter of encouragement from the juniors or seniors. It was such a cute and thoughtful gift.
I have learned a sufficient amount from her.
I've really been digging your work recently. I have to find out Ms. Valdez's e-mail address so I can alert her to yours and Vy's blog posts...Teachers never get to hear stuff like this and even though you guys' posts are about somebody else, I find it really heartwarming to read students' reflections about a teacher who made a big impact. Thanks for writing this.
ReplyDelete