This is the story of a girl

We need more Ms. Wax’s.

It’s plain and simple. The classroom today needs more people like Ms. Wax.

I’ve liked Ms. Wax since she became my division teacher 3 years ago, but last year when I had her for Mixed Media that changed. It was an experience that I wish everyone could have. The amount that she cares about and pushes her students is unbelievable to me. She is the reason I want to be an art teacher when I get older.

I have seen Ms. Wax rise above her duties as a teacher more times than I can count. She doesn’t just care that a student is physically in her class room; she makes sure they’re ok. She has worked with students to get past their disagreements with other teachers, talked with them about their relationships, and even helped them handle a death in the family. She doesn’t ask her students about themselves or care how they’re feeling because she gets paid to do it. She’s such a genuinely nice person, she can’t help it.

And even though I’ve appreciated when Ms. Wax asked me how I was doing or was just friendly to me, I’ve learned more from her in the times when she pressured me. She knows that all of her students are bright people with great ideas, and therefore doesn’t allow them to slide through her class. She pushes them. She makes sure they’re challenged. One time she caught me doing homework for another class while I was supposed to be creating, and she immediately made me stop. While at the time I would’ve just liked to finish my homework, I now thank her for doing that. After that I never worked on other things while in her classroom. I didn’t just do this out of respect for her, but she made me want to excel in her class. She made me want to go to the limits of what I thought I was capable of and then go further.

I think if more teachers forced their students to challenge themselves like Ms. Wax does, kids would be more passionate about learning. They would see past their grade to the more important part of school, to this knowledge we’re supposed to be getting.

Education is such a great privilege, you know.