Ms. Mayer

There’s more to her than what everyone makes her out to be. She uses all of the knowledge in her brain and expresses it in a way we can all understand . Her excitement and enthusiasm collects our undivided attention. Her hard criticism helps all of her students seek the point they are trying to make. There wouldn’t be anyone else that would come close being too nominated for an Educator of the Year, than Melanie Mayer.

    Ms. Mayer became my teacher the start of senior year. She teaches English for all regular students, dual credit students, and also at Del Mar College. Educator of the Year is the perfect title that describes her, if not more. She teaches us the importance of writing. She even gave us a little dictionary called, “100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know”. Every Friday we have a vocabulary quiz over ten different words that will better our diction. We have also read the famous Beowulf and of course the Canterbury Tales which taught us several types of writing and definitions such as a Frame Story, Epic Poem, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Irony. These are all very helpful lessons that will benefit us in the future, whether we are majoring in English or not.

The most useful thing I think she has taught us are SRA’s. This format is a summary, followed by a response, concluding with an analysis. This was a very challenging lesson at first, but then it becomes accessible. From keeping in contact with college students that once went to my high school, they say it definitely pays off. All of the hard work, detailed writing, and extra time undoubtedly assist us in the more advanced college courses.

Another thing that is very helpful is she makes me feel comfortable writing. Writing has never came easy for me because I either underestimated myself or I thought the topic I came up with wasn’t good enough, but I am reassured by Ms. Mayer’s positive attitude.

As I look around her room, I see a little note from a former student whom I personally knew. “Dear Ms. Mayer, just thought I’d let you know that you make college English seem so easy! I miss you and your daily life lessons! Hope to see you soon! Hope all is well!” -____________ Another one says: “Hi Ms. Mayer, I just finished my first week at UT and I just wanted to send you a HUGE thank you for preparing me so well for college. I went to my English class today and was excited to learn that I have such a good grasp of concepts that most of my class hadn’t yet heard of (close reading, critical thinking, etc). I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for your teaching and preparation! I hope everything is going well back at PAHS & you have students that recognize your value. Thank you again.” -____________

    This without a doubt shows me that I am doing the right thing by being in her class. Without the harsh grading, challenging work, and difficulty my classmates and I wouldn’t be on the right track for preparing for college. Ms. Mayer puts her hard work and dedication through every lesson with excitement! Unlike some teachers, she doesn’t let out of school relations interfere with her job. She doesn’t judge, she accepts everyone and their writing. Most importantly, she never embarrasses her students if they are having a hard time. Instead of calling them out in front of the class, she offers for some one-on-one time outside of class.

    One thing Ms. Mayer has helped me with is something she isn’t even aware of. She had assigned the class any book of our choice to read on our own. As I struggled to find a book, my eye caught one. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens by Richard Carlson was the book I chose. As I began to read I got to the chapter, “Let Him Have His Accident Somewhere Else”. I continued to read. Basically, this car was riding another car’s bumper. Instead of slamming on his brakes, the guy just let him pass. This relates to me because I am always driving. I drive thirty minutes to school and back. I was on the highway driving to school, following the speed limit when I looked in my rearview mirror and I saw a car a few inches from my bumper. As I slid my foot over to the brake getting ready to slam it and brake check the guy that was behind me, I remembered what I had read earlier in the week. I put my blinker on and very calmly, let him pass. Normally, I would’ve slammed my brakes, and yelled at him but I didn’t. I could’ve gotten into a car accident or possibly have been hit, but I, “Let him have his accident somewhere else.” So, if Ms. Mayer would’ve never assigned us a book to read, I wouldn’t have been given such good advice and I wouldn’t be bettering myself. Something just as small and effortlessly as this has changed how I see life and what I can be doing to improve my attitude and behavior.

Ms. Mayer expresses the impact and the importance and the excitement of reading and writing the English language. Many people say the English language is one of the hardest languages to learn if not the hardest. Overall, Ms. Mayer deserves this award because of her talent, knowledge and the ability to teach anyone that she has the opportunity to. I am more than thankful to call her my teacher and wish that I could’ve had her inspiring lessons and challenging assignments for more than one year.