Picture a teacher who isn’t afraid to be different, or to strain away from the norm. Picture someone who has their own method of doing things. Unlike some other teachers, this teacher has learned from her mistakes, she has learned from lessons that have worked well and others that have failed completely and she adapted her lesson plans accordingly. She is modern, she is fun, and she is also wise. She is Ms. Bower.

On the first day of junior year, I met Ms. Bower. Right off the bat, she gave it to us straight, saying how we had to do our work if we wanted to get a good grade. I’ll be honest, I was pretty intimidated. As the week went on, she opened up, which made me want to open up as well. We learned more about what she was interested in and what her life was like: she’s a busy student senate advisor and a dedicated soccer coach. Her hands were full. Some days she didn’t even have enough time to eat her lunch, but she still made time to help her students. The thing that intrigued me the most, though, was her her unique teaching style.
Compared to other teachers, Ms. Bower did things backwards. Instead of having a worksheet to do at home, we were required to watch her present the notes on YouTube. What? you may be thinking. Aren’t you supposed to learn the concepts in class, then apply them? Nope. By doing the notes at home, we were able to understand most of the concepts. Then, in class, she worked through example after example and Ms. Bower helped us fully comprehend the subject. After working through the many examples, we would do our homework at school. I really enjoyed this because she was there to help if we needed it. Need clarification? She’s got it! I had never had a teacher who taught this way and I actually found it to be a breath of fresh air because it was easier for me to learn.

What surprised me was the length of Ms. Bower’s videos. They didn’t surprise me by being too much to handle, or by being too long, boring, and confusing. They surprised me because of how much time she put into making each one. Each unit had around two to three chapters, each with six to nine lessons, and each video was anywhere from three to thirteen minutes! That’s a lot of work. You could tell how dedicated and caring Ms. Bower was toward her work and her students because of all of the time and effort she put into it.

By the end of the year, I mastered Advanced Algebra, all thanks to Ms. Bower. I was actually sad to know I wouldn’t be in her class for senior year because she didn’t teach the class I was taking. This was a rare commodity—being sad at the end of a school year. But, that’s what good teachers do for you; they make you enjoy the subject you’re learning so much that you’re disappointed to see it end.