I started taking up Spanish (西班牙语) just because I needed electives (选修课) for my graduation grades. See, I’d never really minded teachers. I always got along with them just fine. At the same time, I never really felt like I could relate to any of them either. They were friendly and they taught just fine.

I never saw a reason to do the work. If my teacher didn’t care enough about me to ask why things weren’t getting done, then why should I do them?

Then, I started taking a class with Mrs. Davis as my teacher. When I didn’t do the work, she asked why. She cared. She wanted to know me more than the other teachers seemed to. So, I explained things to her. She listened. She paid attention. She remembered and always asked for a follow up. For the first time since I started school, I felt I was important.

It was not just me she did so much for though. She wanted to make a difference to every student’s life. She seemed to really care about her students, their achievements, and their goals in life. I didn’t know whether her words had reached everyone. I knew they’d reached me though.

So I started doing the work. I started caring about what other teachers saw in me when they saw my grades. I wanted to be different, better somehow. Mrs. Davis found a way to make me see there was more to doing the work than making the grade. I wanted my grades to reflect a smarter myself, and I don’t think I would have reached that point without Mrs. Davis who did so much for me.

Three months later, the final-term exam arrived. One of the best grades I had ever had! Excitedly, I went to her office and shared with her. Mrs. Davis, who was also excited, told me she had been holding the conviction that I could be a better myself. The breakthrough I had achieved in her class, simply because of her teaching style and her pushing. I know she made me. If I had never taken Spanish, I don’t know where I’d be today. I will never forget how she used to encourage me with “Good job!”