Thank You, Mrs. Pritchard

I’ve always had an active imagination. I used to make up games and friends and stories to keep myself occupied as a little girl. But when I was in third grade, my teacher Mrs. Pritchard taught me that a good imagination and creativity could be used for so much more than playing (though playing is good, too).

Mrs. Pritchard gave everyone in my class a spiral notebook. As a regular class exercise, we would each bring our notebook up to Mrs. Pritchard, who would open it to a clean page and draw random squiggles and designs with her marker. Our assignment was to turn the squiggles into a picture and write a story about it.

Thank You, Mrs. Ghessi

I still remember my first day of the second grade. I had just moved from California to Pennsylvania and didn’t know any of the other kids at school. The school was being remodeled and looked terrifying—all torn apart and covered in plastic sheeting like something out of a movie. It smelled like cement and new carpet, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. My mom held my hand as she walked me to the classroom, and I remember the surge of panic I felt when she let go. I also remember that as soon as her hand slipped away, another hand took its place. The hand belonged to a pretty, blond woman named Mrs. Ghessi– my second grade teacher.

I think we all have a teacher who is particularly special to us, and who had a huge impact on our lives. Mrs. Ghessi was one of mine.