Carmen Rodriguez
March 2, 2010


I was new to Arrowhead this year, coming into the middle of second semester and the very first teacher I met was Mrs. Bower. Math. Worst subject ever. I was unsure how everything would turn out. At first, I looked around the class, not knowing what to do, smiling to Mrs. Bower as if to reassure her I was doing alright but in reality I had no clue what was going on. She would walk past and asked if I needed help. I nodded no, although I wanted to just say “I don’t get it.” She pulled me aside one day and told me I wasn’t doing very well. She sounded concerned, unlike the other teachers that talk to you just as a student in their class. Everyday after class she would tell me I should really just try. She kept on, until day I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and raised my hand. From then on I wasn’t afraid to ask for help when I needed it. The first time I asked for help she rushed over to me and although I was having some trouble, she didn’t get annoyed at all. I felt really comfortable with asking her questions because she was always calm and had a friendly tone to her voice.
Mrs. Bower let me know that it was okay to not know, and that I could ask for help. I would get compliments at the end of the day about how well I did, and that really boosted my confidence a little because teachers sometimes let me walk out of the door without a single “good job”, or “nice work!”
It also helps that Mrs. Bower is a very friendly person and easy to talk to. Although, when she means business, she means business. She genuinely likes what she doesn’t want anyone in her classes to be left behind. I wouldn’t have any other algebra teacher, because I could ask Mrs. Bower a million-and-one times to repeat something for me, and she wouldn’t mind at all.