Sphere of Influence

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. -Carl Gustav Jung

The moment we have all been waiting for is almost here. We are finally seniors and soon we will graduate and go our separate ways. Have you ever stop to think how many people have made our graduation possible? There is a group of people who impacted us so greatly and we hardly ever stop to think about it. Our teachers have poured their heart and soul into teaching us not only the curriculum but life lessons as well. I'm not just considering our high school teachers, but rather the teachers who laid the foundation of our education.

To build a strong, sturdy house there must first be a strong foundation. Our elementary teachers have the laid the foundation for us to achieve success. We have all seen a math problem on Mr. Pickle's board that we thought we would never understand. Bu we would never be able to understand it if we didn't know that two plus two equals four. We wouldn't be able to paint a masterpiece in Mrs. York's class if we didn't know our colors. If we never learned the simple structure of a sentence, we would not be able to enjoy the magnificent stories in Mrs. Christensen's class. There would be no interesting discussions about religion in Mr. Spence's class if we didn't know the basics about the Bible. The elementary teachers are sometimes overlooked or taken for granted. Yet, they are the teachers that lay the foundation for all the middle school and high school teachers. When we stop to think about all the people that have made our graduation possible, our elementary teachers should be first in line.

Once the foundation is laid, our middle school teachers take the job of laying the framework. They build off of the foundation and prepare us for the challenges of high school. This is the point in our lives when we are unsure of who we are and what we want in life. These teachers keep us in line and help us stay focused.

Finally, we have our high school teachers who push us through the final stretch of our school days. They challenge us to think outside the box and find our own opinion. We become more aware of who we are and who we want to become.

When we walk across the stage, we should think about not only how long it took us to get there, but who helped us get there. Graduation is not only a year of preparation, but rather a twelve year preparation. We should take time to reflect on all the many faces that contributed to our success and who ultimately become a part of us.

-Danielle Miller