I had always enjoyed English, but freshman year, my grades starting slipping on assignments I had the impression I was doing well on. Eventually, I became very discouraged and decided to go to Ms. Hamilton about it. I am a shy student, which made it hard to voice my frustration, but Ms. Hamilton made it feel approachable. When I first came in to speak to her, one on one, she reassured me that I understood the ideas in the text, but was having a hard time finding my “academic voice.”
At the end of our meeting, she further extended her help by offering to meet me in zero hour before school started to discuss my writing more. She was very understanding toward my situation, and helped me grow as a person and a writer, which I will never forget. The next time we met she went over every single piece of writing I had ever done in her classroom, and told me where I needed to improve. I will never forget the constructive criticism she gave me, which included not letting my maturity get the best of me in my writing, dispensing my vocabulary like tokens, and making my endings stronger, because endings were the most memorable.
Her teaching style is very laid-back and engaging, as well as strict, when needed, which made her class one that I looked forward to. She had a way of making even the most boring lessons seem fun by incorporating all kinds zany rituals, such as morpheme Monday. Believe me, I never forgot my morphemes after she added excitement to them. Even her tone of voice influenced my retaining skills, positively, because by bringing so much energy, she instills that same quality in her students. Even if she doesn’t want to be at work some days, she makes the best of it and never lets that interfere with the mood of the classroom.
Ms. Hamilton also knows her class like they were own kids. She knows their habits, because she has a keen eye for observation while teaching. Ms. Hamilton knows me impressively well, and that makes me feel important. At a time that can be so tough and confusing, she taught me how to be gentler with myself. Additionally, she allowed me to understand that I shouldn’t let my grades define my overall intellect and capabilities as a person.
Ms. Hamilton is also very involved outside of the classroom, too. She is the assistant coach of the cross-country team and volunteers to help out with the long-distance running team in track. She is also Ms. School Spirit, because whenever we have school spirit week, she never misses a day of dressing up and representing Jackson Hole High School. Ms. Hamilton also participates in school pep rallies. She was part of a dance routine and offered a random, fun fact about her for a game.
Another program she has been a part of is an art and literature intensive, which she encouraged me to do. I ended up doing it and it was a wonderful experience that I probably wouldn’t have seriously considered if she hadn’t. Another opportunity she gave me was the chance to go to a local young authors conference. All of this exemplifies that Ms. Hamilton cares a lot about her students. She genuinely wanted me to be successful and thrive during freshman year.
Thank you, Ms. Hamilton for being the incredible ray of sunshine you are. You were a wonderful role model to me when I needed it most, and still are now. You gave me a library of books, a wall of words, and rekindled my passion for what I love best, and for that I will be eternally grateful.