Landis 1

Dani Landis
Herbert
English 12 P.2
21 August 2016
Fixed to Growth
Danielle Leigh Landis! said an outraged mother. Yes? I hesitantly replied. Why did
you get falls far below on all of your aims scores?! she yelled at me. It was a hard test. I said
quietly afraid to tell her that I did not even try. Well, tonight when we go to Santan to pick up
your schedule I am having a conversation about this with your principle to see if I can enroll you
in the special education program. I sighed and dropped my head down unable to look her in the
eyes. Seeing that I was not going to respond she turned and stormed off.
When my mom and I arrived at my new school, she told me to go get my schedule and
that she will meet me there after she had a word with my principle. As I walked away I dragged
my feet feeling disappointed with myself. I kept repeating Youre a disappointmentYoure a
mess upYoure a failure. As I was getting my schedule I ran into one of my new teachers. We
conversed for a while, until my mom walked up. She introduced herself and immediately asked
her about what my test scores. Ms. Lutrey turned to me and asked, Dani, do you get testing
anxiety? Relieved, I batted my eyes and looked at her saying, YesI do. I could not tell my
mom the truth. After we finished talking to Ms. Lutrey we saw an old family friend who is a
teacher at my new school. My mom had the same discussion with Ms. Jeffers, but this time she
turned to me and asked, Dani, did you even try? I looked down mumbling No. My mom was
not convinced that, that was the truth. She told me that I had this year to prove that I do not need
to go into the special education program.

Landis 2
Keeping all of that in my mind, I walked into my first period. Mrs. Drabeck honors prealgebra. She is like a ball of sunshine. She was so enthusiastic about teaching and dedicated her
life to it. Mrs. Drabeck made me change from a straight C student to a straight A student. Her
lessons in class were filled with visual aids, examples, and hands on activities. She appealed to
every learning type. I had never seen a teacher who could teach to so many students, and have
the concepts understood. She took an interest in all of her students and helped them with their
problems. I told her about my test scores and she told me that there is no reason for me to not get
all As this year. She gave me a reason to try in school. Before I thought that I was the funny
child and my brother was the smart one, but Mrs. Drabeck made me feel like I was the smart kid.
Every test or essay or assignment that I aced I would come running to her and she would always
make me feel like there was nothing I could not do.
Mrs. Drabecks enthusiasm in the classroom and ability to make every student feel like
they were her favorite, made me want to become a teacher. I saw how much she changed
peoples lives. I now try hard in school. Last year I received a 4.2 GPA, I am enrolled in AP
classes and I crave learning new things. She changed me from a fixed mindset to a growth
mindset and I will never be able to thank her enough. She has inspired me to want to go to
college and get my secondary education math degree. I hope to become as amazing of a teacher
as her one day and touch the lives of students of my own.