In eighth grade, I experienced the best social studies teacher I could ask for. That class is what I would look forward to everyday thanks to Mrs. Seifred. She was the type of teacher you could tell anything to, and know it was being kept confidential. Mrs. Seifred had a class that was impossible to fall asleep in; it was filled with wisdom, entertainment, and positive attitudes.

There are tons of teachers in the world that teach well, but Mrs. Seifred was a phenomenal educator, above the rest. The time I really noticed how awesome she was, was when she came into class dressed as a grand-ma. The point of this was to talk about historical characters from an older time period. While teaching, she would include everyone so we could interact with the lessons. The utmost part about her teaching was that she helped us find our different types of learning styles. There were special activities set aside for the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. One day, we separated the class into groups of learning styles. As it turns out, the two auditory kids were wearing white, while the visuals were wearing blue. The majority of the class was kinesthetic and they were all wearing bright colored shirts. She understood us and predicted us so well that it was mind-blowing.

She always grasped our attention by starting the class off with a big welcoming and relating the topic to our middle school lives. Mrs. Seifred had a bubbly personality. When you were having a bad day, she knew to either leave you alone or make you full on belly-laugh. Her classroom had posters on the walls, a little lamp in the corner, and a closet where she let me keep my lacrosse things every now and then. It truly felt like home in that little room. We could talk to her about any problem whether school related or not; she was always there for us and offered her advice. It’s crazy how a teacher could be thought of as an aunt or a second mom, and that’s exactly what she was in my eyes.

There are many memories I’ve carried with me, but one that stands out the most with Mrs. Seifred was during Christmas time. I was having a complicated time with my friends at school, and of course the first person I went to was her. My best friends at the time were drastically changing, and so was I. It was just one of those teenager growth periods that I didn’t handle very well. We didn’t talk about it a lot together, but I found a spark in her that made me a better person. For a holiday present, I just had to get her something special…her favorite thing was salt and vinegar potato chips. Since my last name is Herr, she was super excited when I gave her the bag of Herr’s Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips. I can still hear her voice to this day, “a bag of Herr’s from a Herr!”

If it wasn’t for Mrs. Seifred, I may not be where I am today at the Delaware Military Academy. She was really the only teacher who supported me and pushed me to achieve my goals. The day I told her I got accepted, she gave me a huge hug, and she assured me that I would have a great future. Now, a year later, Mrs. Seifred still crosses my mind. She had a way of teaching where we remembered the material, not just memorized it. She comforted us with her positive attitude and belief that were all capable of being the paramount kids we hoped to be. There are quite a few teachers who I could remember their names if I tried, but Mrs. Seifred will stick with me forever.