First day
of school, second period, nine o’clock. I entered room S-4 and saw her. Kids
began filing in and sat down near their friends. Nine o’six, the bell rang. All
of S-4 was dead silent. The only sound striking the ears of each individual was
the stilling hum of the air conditioning vent. “Why are you here?” Everybody looked
at each other, mildly confused. No response. She repeated, “Why are you here?” Some
students simultaneously shouted, “Because we want to learn!” Once it was my
turn to answer, fear had stricken every nerve of my body and I sputtered out
“They put me in here by accident.” She gave me a cold, stone faced look. Ever
since that day I never talked to her or ask questions about anything.
Everyday I
came into that classroom, my heart was pumping 200 times faster because I knew
that she hated me. She didn’t want me in her classroom. Every time she would
surprise us with an essay and I would get zeroes on every single one of due to
my procrastination. I kept telling myself to study every morning and every
night to make her proud so she can like me, but laziness got in the way.
As the end
of first semester was approaching, I had built up the guts to come to her after
school and talk. I walked in and saw her in the corner of the room relaxing in
her chair. She looked at me and said “Hello,” in her heavy-ish accent. I
grabbed a chair and sat down right in front of her desk. I told her, “I know
I’ve haven’t talked all semester, but I have a question for you.” She yelled,
“Oh, so you can talk?!”, and we both started laughing. From that one day I
began to feel a sense of comfort around her.
Once second
semester started, I ran into her classroom and shouted out “Good morning!” Ever
since I talked to her I began to see her true personality, which made me
realize that my mindset during first semester was all wrong. She didn’t hate
me; she wanted me in her classroom, she cared about all of her students, she
wanted us to treasure our knowledge. She wasn’t just a teacher, but she was a
mentor guiding us in the right directions of our life. As the school year ended
she and I were like best friends because I was able to talk about anything with
her and she would help me with all of my life problems. She even let me her
fancy car! You can say that she is my favorite teacher.
Then the
new school year began, I saw the new students walk into her classroom and it
reminded me of myself when I first walked into that classroom. I told them that
there’s nothing to be scared of because she is one of the best teachers you
will ever have and that you will learn many valuable lessons that you will
treasure forever. AP Bio with her is a once in a lifetime chance.
28 comments:
Brandon, I can very much relate to your experiences. I actually had her for biology my freshman year. To be honest, for the first two weeks, I was scared to death. My heart would be pumping very fast as I would walk into her classroom. As the weeks progressed, I saw her true personality and realized how much of an amazing teacher she was. She is a very caring person and it was worth it to have her as a teacher. I am glad that you were able to have a good experience with her. Your story really expresses the good experiences you had with Mrs. Arora. Good Job!!!
I genuinely enjoyed this submission. It was neat to see how your uneasiness towards Ms. Aurora gave way to friendship. Having heard all of the horror stories of AP Bio, I personally made the decision to avoid the class. But, after learning about your personal experience, I think my assumptions were definitely faulty. If I weren't graduating, I just might reconsider taking AP Bio.
-Christina Tapia
Ahhh. Ms. Arora. Although I have never taken a class with Ms. Arora I have heard many great things from her. Even when everyone says that her class is very difficult to pass, everyone that has taken her class has came out of the class knowing much more, not only about biology but about life. This just goes to show the amazing teachers that teach at Etiwanda. I can say that every year of my high school career I have had some of the best teachers I could ever have been taught by. Each having their own personality and a true expert of their field. I have been extremely fortunate to have these amazing people teach me of the world around me.
Very nice story! Your description of the first day in her class is almost exactly the same as ours. Everyone got quiet once she stood at the podium and looked over the class with her stern eyes. And yes, the only thing audible at the moment was the humming from the air conditioner. She asked people why they are in the class and soon after, a test was in session. I have no other words to describe her course other than the word "unique." It was nice seeing that your relationship with Mrs. Arora got better after you confronted her. Good job!
-Hsing Chang
BIO MOMMY! Hahaha I remember the feeling, near tears, scared out of our wits, trying not to look stupid even though she could make us feel stupid in any situation...This brought back a lot of memories for me, even though I still see her every day, and you perfectly described the transition that most of us felt throughout the year: from fear and sorrowful confusion to comfort and a unique student-teacher love.
This was a really nice piece to read, mainly because I could relate...well, at least the first half of it. Even though this piece was talking about your own experience, I could clearly see myself, once again, in that specific position as I was reading through the piece thanks to your vivid descriptions. Hopefully, I'll also one day be able to reach the experience that your second half of your piece is about, even though the year is dwindling to an end!
This piece is very reminiscing and i'm glad you were able to over come and talk to her. Teachers aren't as bad as some may think !
-Erin Napoleon
Brandon! First of all, LOL. Although I did not have Ms. Arora as a teacher, I knew instantly that this blog was about her. I really like how you went into description of how you felt. The fact that your heart pumped 200 times faster when you walked into the classroom kind of made my heart beat faster as I read your blog. Even though I cannot relate to how you felt, I’m sure many students can. Considering that S-4 is across my second period class, I see many AP Bio kids cramming for labs and stressing about the tests before they get into the classroom. Anyways, congrats on surviving AP Bio last year. Good Job!
- Tia Basa
Well I had the same feeling that first day when I had to answer that question but as the days went on I started to see that she wasn't really a scary person except she is someone who I could be around and actually talk to. But I like how you actually went in and talked to her and the relationship between you and her got better. Great job.
I think it's pretty funny how literally every comment is from an AP Bio student; I think it was the title that caught everyone's attention. Even though I know that she does the same thing every year on the first day of school, it's so funny reading everyone's comments about what happened; teheheheh. I think this piece is definitely well written, especially to the point where it changed Christina Tapia's mind about taking the class. The short sentences throughout the whole piece in helping create an "image" of Arora, and how abrupt and hectic things are in the class. Though the case, you also managed to show how welcoming and heartwarming that class is at the same time, of course through your own personal experiences. The whole piece actually is very humorous, but I think it's because I can hear her voice. And I can imagine everyone else hearing her voice, aha! Good job Brands!
Oh my gosh Brandon I loved this so much! I can totally relate to every single thing you mentioned in this piece. I'm glad to know that I wasn't the only one how was totally intimated and never talked first semester! I don't think anyone can truly understand what it feels like to be in that situation until you're in her class, and although its extremely difficult this year, I don't regret a second spent in that class with Mrs. Arora.
Haha. Tne same thing happened to me. I have mrs arora for honors bio and it is a tough class but she really makes you think and learn on your own. I like the relatable story. Good job.
This was a descriptive and a great look into the intimidation that most students feel when entering a new class that they are not too sure about. Your reflection was relatable and kept my attention through out. Good job.
I enjoyed this piece, it's not often when students are so willing to talk about their teachers, and the fact that something good came out of your experience in the terrifying AP Bio. Was even better.Good submission.
Brandon, this was such a great piece to read!
I'm sure plenty of students, OTHER than AP Bio students can relate to this piece with a different teacher.
I enjoyed how descriptive you made this piece; I'm pretty sure I felt anxiety while reading this as if I was in your shoes!
It was also humorous because I could envision Ms. Arora making those replies and also you acting in such a manner to become best friends with her.
Great piece! Awesome job!
- Seohyun "Joy" Jeon
I really enjoyed reading your piece. I was able to relate to it because teachers are often times intimidating but really do care about their kids. I liked how you simulated a class experience through your descriptions. It made it easier to visualize and understand your perspective. Good job.
Haha, Brandon, we know that pain all too well. AP Bio was something I'll never forget, and for good reasons too. It's funny how a teacher can affect you so profoundly, and how a relationship can change from pure terror to respect and admiration. I love Ms. Arora, too, and I understand everything she was trying to teach us, and even if the bio won't stick with me for the rest of my life, her lessons will. I'm glad you've become so close to her! I remember you being silent first semester, and then next thing we knew, you got so much more confident! Great job conveying the mix of feelings you got from the class, and your personal reflection was outstanding.
Wonderful job!
As one of Ms. Arora's former students, I completely empathize in having a very intimidating teacher. She's one of my favorite teachers because of it. I enjoyed reading your blog because we shared the exact same fear in the beginning of the semester. However, the line "She even let me her fancy car!" was a bit confusing.
I really liked this story because it was very intresting! I liked how you added something personal to your story.
I really enjoyed this piece and thought that it was truly sweet. You really showed that people shouldn't judge a book by it's cover and I really loved the close friendship that you gained by being open minded about a person that you thought disliked you. Loved it from beginning to end, phenomenal job!
Rachael Rubalcava
The beginning of this story sounded A LOT like my personal essay for the UC application LOL! I honestly cannot believe you said "they put me in here by accident" to her! GG man! Anyways, I'm glad that you and I share similar relationships with Mrs. Arora. I think every student can vouch for me when I say that everyone thinks Mrs. Arora hates them when they first meet her. However, after talking to her outside of class, you begin to see that she's not that scary after all! She's just a small woman with a really loud voice. But other than that, I'm glad you exposed the not so scary side of Mrs. Arora to others who weren't able to have her as a teacher. GG Brandz! (:
Oh man.... you were that person! There were like two others too! The fact that I did not know the rigor of her class and that many people did not lie made me feel very comfortable around her since the beginning so thank you! She gets even better when you have other questions than AP! Honestly this is relatable to like everyone in Bio to some extent so good job!
Mogi I hate you, this made me cry. I was very emotional before I even read this haha. But I love how you were able to capture her mannerisms and personify her just through your story. I loved how I could totally imagine your conversation with her, just because I know both of you two so well. ^-^ You should definitely show her this!
i can relate to this article in many ways. i am one of those kids who takes a little while to warm up to people. i am the same way in new classes i feel shy sometimes and don't really talk and i think that is something that i need to change a little. great article made me laugh a little thinking of it lol.
I still remember the day when she let you drive her car and am still in shock. I'm glad I never took AP Bio because of how much people complain about it but after reading this I kind of regret it because she seems like a genuine person.
AWWWW! MOGI! I absolutely love this piece! This was exactly how I felt last year! (well we were in the same class so yeah you know that duh!) But really! This is such a great blog that shows how the struggles in AP Bio was worth it, because of Arora! Goodness I love that woman! I have so much respect for her and I would totally invite her to my wedding because shes just amazing! I can't get over how much I love this blog..gosh! GREAT JOB MOGI! THIS MADE MY NIGHT!
Hahaha I can relate to this post. First semester she seemed really mean and intimidating. After a while, you start to see her true colors underneath that "mean" facade she puts up. You start to see how she actually cares for all her students and only yells and throws staplers to engrave the lessons of biology deep into the students' minds. She is actually a great teacher, not just of biology but of life also and gives us great advice to better succeed in the future. I can't believe she let you drive her Audi.. Good read!
I totally love Mrs. Arora's class. I'm currently taking her honors bio as a freshman and she let me eat her beans!They were spicy, but good because I like it that way. Much love for Mama Nama! In fact, I should be working right now, but I stumbled across this and got distracted! Sorry mom, I'll get back to work!!! <3
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