Art is my passion. I will do anything in order to complete a single picture. However, this became an issue during freshman year of high school. I have ADD, but at the time, I didn’t know it. I was always found drawing in class instead of taking notes and the teachers couldn’t get me to focus. Eventually, this became a major problem and my freshman year ended with terrible grades. But little did I know that this would change during my sophomore year.

Sophomore year started and I had been assigned to a new special education teacher, Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson is persistent, patient, and passionate. He monitors groups of students that seem to have some sort of learning disabilities. And help he does!

Over 50 percent of my schoolwork was either missing or incomplete. I never had the motivation to get theses assignments done because I thought they wouldn’t count as a grade if I finished them or turned them in. Mr. Johnson saw me as a project to work on and he helped me develop a plan to get as much missing work in as possible. It helped boost my confidence and encouraged me to get more work done on time within all my classes.

Mr. Johnson isn’t just there as a tutor or to help with homework--he is also a listener. I was struggling with a friendship that had hurt me and my school performance. Instead of asking why I’m not getting my work done, Mr. Johnson asked if I was feeling okay. As I talked it out, he helped me out of the slump and cheered me up just like family would.

Outside of school, Mr. Johnson got married and afterwards, he came right back to school. Now, I don’t know about you, but if it were me, I would want a day off instead of coming back to a room of noisy teenagers. This shows dedication to the students and job.

Mr. Johnson turned my life around and I’ve been dedicated to schoolwork more than I used to be. Without Mr. Johnson, I wouldn’t have the self confidence to even approach a college. This is why I would like to nominate Mr. Johnson to be the educator of the month. I owe him so much more than he knows--this would definitely show my love and gratitude towards him.