Susan Harper - The Teacher Who Made Me Love School

School can be a pretty traumatic place for young children, especially if they don’t like their teacher.  Fortunately for me, going to school was an absolute pleasure.  My fourth grade teacher was exceptional.  It was her first year teaching, and she was so excited about everything.  You never saw Mrs. Harper without a smile on her face.  She always went that extra mile to encourage every child that passed through her room.  I, like all my classmates, adored her.  Her approval and friendship meant the world to us.  I was therefore completely flattered by her encouragement regarding my writing.  She repeatedly told me how much natural talent I had, and truly made me believe that I could be a writer.  She was the first person to suggest a career in writing that didn’t preface it by suggesting journalism.

For the first ten minutes of every class, Mrs. Harper had us write in our journals.  She took them home once a week, read all 35 children’s entries and wrote comments in the margins.  This was not an exercise in grammar or punctuation or word flow.  It was just a creative endeavor that she thought was worthwhile.  I still have my journals, and it’s like a time capsule captured on paper.  I can look back and see all the thoughts and worries and dreams of my fourth grade self, and that’s such a unique opportunity.

I just wanted to thank Susan Harper for all the encouragement, for all the smiles and for all the words.