At de Toledo High School, we are blessed with the chance to learn from incredibly qualified teachers. But have you ever sat down to ask why these inspirational human beings wanted to become teachers in the first place?

Passion is required for teaching. Teaching is a full-time job with basically no breaks. Teaching for eight hours a day, going home and grading papers, planning lessons during the weekends, creating tests during breaks, and ensuring students are receiving the best educations they can get are just some of many responsibilities of a teacher. Teachers care so much about each and every student. Teachers are like parents: they are always there to listen and provide a helping hand. Although some teachers may seem cold or maybe a little irritated, with lack of sleep, families at home, and so much responsibility, we have to remember that they are humans too. Dedicating their lives to helping others, teachers are heroes, and it is our responsibility as students to respect them more.

I absolutely love learning, and I am intrigued by the human’s capability of receiving information, processing it, and then building off of that information to learn even more.

In tenth grade I searched for a way to give back to my community, hoping to make a lasting impact on those around me, when I found an incredible program called KorehLA, in which volunteers teach children in the Los Angeles Unified School District fundamental reading skills. I took the initiative and lead myself through hours of training with the hope that I could possibly impact a child’s life.

I was placed with Julien, the sweetest first grade boy who struggled to keep up with his class’s reading level. Week after week, I visited his school and we worked on complicated English words and challenging letters.

One week, Julien was struggling with the word “who” because to him, when sounding out the word, it sounded like “wa-ho.” In order to solve this problem, I suggested that when he sees the word, he should create an “O” with his mouth in order to pronounce it correctly and recognize its meaning. A week later, and I had nearly forgotten about this little trick I taught Julien. When we got to the flashcard with the word “who,” I saw him hesitate for a moment. Just as I was about to shrug my shoulders, disappointed in my unsuccessful tip, suddenly I saw Julien make an “O” with his mouth and correctly read the word! Nothing has made me prouder than this moment.

That day I saw a tremendous difference in Julien’s reading abilities and overall confidence, and I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life: teach elementary students to love learning as I do. I plan to continue to use this experience as a stepping stone not only to be a leader and a change-maker in my community, but to eventually be able to give children this confidence every single day.

Now that I am set on my decision to become a teacher. I am curious to see if the teachers at de Toledo High School had any similar experiences that led them to teach high school. What had inspired them to become teachers?

I interviewed Mrs. Gastaldi, who teaches multiple English classes: a Dramatic Writing class, our Journalism class, English 12, and the AP English Literature class. According to Mrs. Gastaldi, she was never someone who wanted to just be a teacher – writing was always something on her mind. Passionate about English and writing, she spent her time in college tutoring her fellow students in the writing center.

Although there was not a specific moment that drove Mrs. Gastaldi to become a teacher, she remembers a moment that meant a lot to her as a tutor. “I had helped a student with her application for a Watson Fellowship,” Mrs. Gastaldi explained, “and she won. That was very meaningful [to me].” It was this moment and more that drove Mrs. Gastaldi to high school English where she can help teenagers every day, and give meaning to their writing as they strengthen their skills.

Students at deToledo High School should be giving so much more respect to their teachers. We may know how much they do, yet students in this school constantly talk over their teachers, complain, and show no gratitude. I challenge us to take a moment to appreciate all that teachers do for us. Even a small “thank you” or an email acknowledging an interesting discussion you had in class will go along way.

Let this article be the start to a new era of respect at deToledo High School. So, thank you teachers for working so hard to create a safe learning environment for me and the rest of the student body.