Middle school was never a problem for me. I flew through 7th and 8th grade as Student Body President with all A’s, including my high school geometry class that I took as an 8th grader. School was easy, and math was my best and favorite subject.
I entered into high school as an arrogant kid, expecting to soar through my math classes. But I struggled going from less than 100 kids in my grade to more than 600. On the first day of school, I strolled into my math class and spotted a well dressed, intelligent looking young man that would be my new math teacher. His name was Mr. Schmid.
Mr. Schmid warned my class right off the bat: “The Advanced Algebra/Trig class that you are enrolled in is not going to be easy.” And he was definitely right. I struggled often, but Mr. Schmid was always there to help me. He was amazing at explaining difficult concepts and he guided me through tough math problems. Once junior came around, I discovered that Mr. Schmid would be my teacher yet again for my junior and senior years.
I did a great deal of complaining to Mr. Schmid along the way. I complained when he wouldn’t let us have a partner on a quiz, I complained when he made a test really hard, and I complained when he would give us too much homework, but he never once gave in to my grumble. Mr. Schmid stood as firm as a brick wall, but he challenged me and pushed me to where I am today. If it wasn’t for him, I would not have this much knowledge and perseverance. I feel extremely prepared for the AP test this year as well as moving on to future math classes in college. Because of Mr. Schmid, not only am I better at math, but I am better at problem solving in life.
Mr. Schmid made it a point to get to know everyone personally in my class and created bonds with students. I learned about him and his family throughout the three years. Mr. Schmid is involved with his students and he is a proud leader of forensics at our school. He is happily married with two beautiful daughters and he majored in Biology and Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an exceptionally intelligent and relatable man and I really enjoyed getting to know him.
It was incredible fate that Mr. Schmid was in my life to help me transition into high school and now into college. He always made his students feel comfortable in his class and that is a hard thing to do. Although I struggled a great deal along the way, he taught me problem solving skills and perseverance that carry over into other aspects in my life. I will never forget Mr. Schmid and the lessons that I learned from him will be forever remembered.