Educator of the Year



“Rebuttal?!” I questioned Mrs.Faccenda’s ability to teach students. I was steaming mad. Why’d she have to put me on rebuttal, when she knew it was not my strong suit? We were doing a project in class, in debating on hot button topics. Was only till a year later in high school as a freshman when I realized why she had done it; she wanted to challenge me and push me to the best of my abilities to do better than average.

My old 8th grade Skyline Middle School teacher knew how to educate young minds so enthusiastically, and its rare you see teacher so willing and happy to come to school every day and immerse students minds in knowledge, even though most of the kids didn’t value it, or resisted. She saw potential in not only me, but every other student who didn’t necessarily believe in themselves.

My best friend and I started to become accustomed to Mrs.Faccenda calling us in class when she knew we weren’t listening to her. I must reiterate why she had done that. She wanted us to absorb what she was saying so we could listen and be prepared for high school.

I must admit it wasn’t my favorite class, in fact my best friend and I dreaded going to that class daily, but as time evolved we grew and adapted to her unique teaching style and actually admired it and her. Some days you could tell she wasn’t feeling her best physically or emotionally, but she still came into class, slapped a smile on her face and put sincere effort into making us smile and want to learn about literature or Edgar Allen Poe, because she was that inspiring.

A year isn’t that long ago and I still and always will remember the feeling the feeling of sitting at that khaki colored desk, next to my bestfriend, looking up at the animated face of a true educator who put our minds to work, and made our futures feel brighter just when we thought society had given up on our generation.