Mrs. Player has gotten even better with time

By Silas Gilbert

Fifth Grade, Hudson PEP

MEET THE TEACHER! It’s the first time students meet the person who will be teaching them for nine and a half months. At Meet the Teacher for third grade, I was terrified. Yes, COVID was happening, but the school was able to get all the third-grade teachers together so we could still have Meet the Teacher from our cars. As we drove up to what I thought was my never-ending doom, I was as terrified as a sloth sitting next to a hungry T-Rex. My mom rolled down my window, and I saw my teacher. Once I saw her, I was sure she was not mean. I was not as terrified as before, but I was still rather scared. She spoke with a nice, kind voice to prove everything was okay.

Then the first day of school came. Thoughts like “Was she just acting nice for Meet the Teacher to deceive me?” and “What if she hates my guts?” went through my head. At the door, I stopped and took a breath and told myself it will be fine, saying “Calm down, Silas. Do not worry. Everything might—no—will be fine!” After one more deep breath and a lot of self-encouragement, I was ready to open the door. I walked inside to see what I thought was going to be a nightmare. I was actually wrong about Mrs. Player. She was better than I thought! She was funny, nice, and kind. She taught me so much. Mrs. Player made me enjoy

English/language arts with fun projects and activities. She gave great examples, was always happy, and was kind to me and very accepting.

I was on the brink of filling my car with tears when third grade was over. I missed Mrs. Player. When fourth grade arrived, I was so happy to see her again. Once fourth grade was over, I was very, very sad because I knew I would miss Mrs. Player, Mrs. Campbell, and Mrs. Mahaffey too. However, a few months later I was as ecstatic as a bouncy ball. I was bouncing up and down, left and right, through my house when I heard the best news of my life. I was going to have Mrs. Player as my teacher again! She had moved to teach fifth grade!

A once in a million—no, a one in a billion—chance had happened to me. However, Mrs. Player had changed. She got even better!

She is so nice and has had such an impact on my life. I always become super excited when going into her classroom. She gives rewards for right answers in class, and she is super understanding, funny, and kind. I am so happy to have Mrs. Player as my teacher again this year.

Just being in her class makes me happy. She is the best teacher I have ever had.