Compassion

Near the end of my senior year in high school my grandma pass away from pancreatic cancer. It was one of the first times that i had dealt with a death in the family and i took it kind of hard. School seemed to get a little bit less important and sports, which is what i live for, even took a back seat. This is where my teachers, Mr. Straka and Ms. McWorthy (now Mrs. Straka) helped my get back on track. Mr. Straka was my AP bio teacher and Ms. McWorthy was my band director. They told me every chance I had i should come to their room just to talk and do a little homework. They gave a me a kind word and more encouragement they i could ever need to finish my high school career strong. Looking back at it i realized that they went out of their way and gave up some of their prep time, which i now know can be vital for a teachers sanity, to help keep me on track. There job wasn't the guidance counselor or the school psychologist. They did it because they genuinely cared and i think that is one of the biggest unwritten qualifications to teaching, care for your students when they need someone.

Respect

Respect, something that every person strives to achieve. Or at least everyone should strive to earn it. I say earn it because you can not forcefully take respect from people. Like I always say, anything earned is better than anything taken or given. Take teachers for example. If they can win the respect and trust of the children they teach, the they have half the battle one. Respect opens the door for for others to take in and process what you are trying to say to them. And if anyone knows, getting a students attention and interest is one of the most difficult things teachers have to do. But, this door swings both ways. Teachers have to respect their students to listen to any question that they come up with. As well by showing respect when answering their question without sound condescending or criticizing it,  because every teacher should love having their students ask questions about the current subject.