I was decent at math during middle school and in my first years of high school. I was excited to start math junior year with a teacher I had heard great things about from other students and my brother. I heard he allowed his second-year class to dress up for their quizzes to get a partner on it. It seemed like his class was going to be fun.

In the first year with Mr. Schmid, I was excited. He was a sharp, sensible, and sympathetic man. When I started our first unit with Mr. Schmid it was a new topic that I had no idea how to approach. Some students picked it up while others didn’t. He would make sure to ask, “Are you doing ok? Are you understanding this?” while students shouted out the answers. He made sure to pay special attention. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed, but I knew that he cared for every one of his students.

Toward the end of the year though I slipped. I fell behind on my homework and could tell that it was affecting my quizzes and tests. I tried to get my past homework in while still working on the new content that was being presented. I knew that it was going to be hard to get my grade up to the requirement to move onto the next class. I worked hard but fell into a hole that I had dug myself into. I was trying to claw myself out. The final approached and I wasn’t sure if I would pass onto the next class.

When it came time to start reviewing for the final I put more effort into studying for it than I had previously done. I banked on the final to bring my grade up into a B to move on. I felt confident going into the final and after leaving, I knew I had succeeded, but the question was, was it enough?

When the final came back I had gotten 90% on it, but that wasn’t enough. I was right on the cusp of moving up into a B. I thought that was it and I was going to have to leave my friends behind on move into the other math, but when I checked again later I noticed that my grade was now perfectly a B. Mr. Schmid had bumped my grade. I was surprised. I knew Mr. Schmid, but I didn’t think he would do this for me.

I just want to say thank you. I don’t know if I’ve ever said it, but I appreciate you as a teacher. You allow your students to be themselves in your class and like to joke around with us or join in our random discussions before class. You are a genuine person and I just wanted to tell you that I am grateful that you are my math teacher and that I got to spend two years with you.