My Future Plans by Mandy Green My Great-Grandmother was a teacher. I didn't know her, unfortunately. But, my grandmother still tells me stories her mother told her about teaching in a one room school house. That sounded really great to me and I set up my own one room school house in my bedroom.

Ever since I was five I wanted to be a teacher. I used to line up my stuffed animals in rows and teach them whatever it was I happened to be studying. But, I always tried to make it more exciting than my teachers had. I don't know if I succeeded, but it did succeed in making me a better student. Thus proving that teaching someone else something is the best way to learn.

Throughout my school career, as a student, I've had exciting teachers and I've had boring teachers. The teachers who are excited are the ones who care about the students and the subject matter.

I once had a teacher who didn't just teach us subject lessons. Her lessons went beyond the classroom. Her caring went beyond the school yard. She helped many of her students out of what felt like hopeless situations. She gave us confidence to tackle our lessons inside the classroom. We carried that confidence into the world. I want to pass her spirit onto others as it was given to me.

I had another teacher who made lessons come alive. If we were studying fractions in math, we were measuring. If we were studying a story, we were making it into a play. I want to teach children that even the most boring of subjects, like History, can be exciting.