It’s the first day of the last semester of the year, and everyone is counting down the days until summer. It was a normal day for me, dreading the start of a new class, with a new teacher, but then I walked into Mrs. Munkwitz’s classroom and my point of view completely changed.
I was never a huge fan of English class. I never was good at writing and paying attention. But when I had Mrs.Munkwitz as a teacher, she changed my point of view. I had never had her before as a teacher. But all my friends had her at one point in the past two years. I always heard amazing things about her, and her teaching styles. So the day I first walked into her classroom, I knew English was going to be my favorite class.
She started by introducing herself with a upbeat tone, and a smile on her face, and it made the environment in her classroom warm and welcoming. Believe me when I say, a welcoming classroom is a wonderful classroom. So then, she started telling us about her personal life. And for some reason, I listened to her story. She started out by telling us about her recent marriage to her husband Chad. She then told us about how her mother also worked at the school as a study hall teacher.She was proud to work in the same place as her mother. So by the end of the talk, she encouraged us to join the club Interact which helps students learn leadership, respect, hard work, and goodwill. She is a big part of the club, and she said any one of us could join and make a difference, so I decided to join soon.
I feel like I’ve known her forever. Her personality is contagious and she has influenced me to be happy like she is everyday.
Before this semester even started, I would go with my two friends to her classroom in the mornings to hangout before the bell rang. The minute we’d walk in, she’d come out with a joke, making us all laugh, and she would treat us more like friends than students. For me, having a person like that helped encourage me to try and see my teachers more as friends, rather than strict people who are only there to teach. I will forever be thankful for the lesson of friendship she taught me.
I think Mrs. Munkwitz deserves this because of her dedication to her students, her love for what she does, and for her ability to make everyone feel at home.