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Ahmed Mohamed
English 111-97
Literacy Narrative
Feb. 8, 2016
A Teacher Teaches
Throughout my times of being in high school, Ive always had the perception that every
teacher past kindergarten was the spawn of Satan. Teachers Ive met in both public schools and
private school treated me all the same. They treated me with little to no care and only had an end
goal to simply put information in the student's mind. All the teachers that Ive had only cared
about their paycheck and made it very clear that whether a student passes or fails is not the
teacher's problem. Once the student passed their course, they were just seen as a past customer in
the eyes of the teacher. My perception of how I view teachers changed dramatically in my junior
year of Cato Middle College High School when I took English with Ms. Nickloff. Ms. Nickloff
advanced my ability to read and write through persistence, compassion, and light hearted humor.
The first reason Ms. Nickloff advanced my ability to read and write is through her
persistence. Ms. Nickloff would never give up on any of her students. It would hurt her to see
someone doing poorly in her class. Even if someone were to show little to no effort in her class,
she would try to help out all students that she believed had the ability to excel. In the eyes of Ms.
Nickloff, everyone was capable. Ms. Nickloff would not give up on any student that was having
trouble in her class. She would continue with her persistence and made sure all of her students

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grew. There are some students that didnt care about the course and its very sad, because
persistence can only take someone so far, but that didnt stop Ms. Nickloff.
The second reason Ms. Nickloff has advanced my ability in English is with her
compassion. Typically, most teachers that Ive dealt worth had little to no patience when it came
to students behavior. It came as a surprise when I found a teacher that actually tried to work out
any problems a student was having in her class, whether it be with another student or with
herself. There were some students in her class that acted up almost every day. She wouldnt let
out her frustration in class but instead have a stern talking to them after class and at most times
would solve the issue. Ms. Nickloff tries to keep hostility in class at an all-time low. With this
compassion I was able to feel more comfortable in class and therefore more tuned in with the
class.
The third and final reason Ms. Nickloff helped me in my junior year of high school is
with light hearted humor. Ive never had a teacher that took her job seriously and have a friendly
relationship with her students, so it surprised me when I saw a very strong teacher to be making
jokes in class. Even though humor may seem small in a classroom, this helped me open up in
class, and kept it so that the atmosphere in the class to never be too serious. It kept me on my
toes and had me interested throughout the day of her class. She made sure not to offend anyone
with her jokes but at the same time, not have the dull sense of humor other teacher would have.
In conclusion, Ms. Nickloff helped me grow in English with her persistence, compassion,
and light hearted humor. Ms. Nickloff did what I wish every student would do, which was to
have a strong relationship with the student. She would always be sure to check up on most of her
students to see how theyre doing showing a true relation of student and teacher. Ms. Nickloff

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would be kind hearted and throughout the years of seeing her in the hallways of Cato Campus,
its inspiring to see that she didnt change.