An impactful teacher is someone who takes the time to understand how you learn. Someone you click with from the very first meeting. Someone who has immense skill and knowledge in the subject as well as an excitement for it. Someone who makes you feel respected and appreciated no matter what. Mr. Jason Landaiche, my private clarinet lesson teacher, is that someone to me. I have always been blessed with patient and generous band directors throughout my middle school and high school years, but Mr. Landaiche has been everything a teacher should be. I began taking lessons with him about two years ago now, and I can remember the visceral anxiety I had felt going to a different school with a lesson teacher I had only met for a few minutes the week before. I had never really thought about taking lessons because of how expensive they can be. At the time, I didn’t even want to take lessons because of how terrified I was to try it, but my high school band director convinced me to give it a shot and told my parents and me that Mr. Landaiche wanted to do it for free. So, my dad drove me to my first lesson. I walked in, and after quick introductions, Mr. Landaiche handed me a new, upgraded mouthpiece for my clarinet. He said nothing of it, and when I asked if he wanted it back after the lesson, he laughed and said of course not, it was mine. That is just one small example of all the incredibly kind and helpful things he has done for me. He has so much patience when he teaches, and his blunt and forward nature pushes me to find it in myself to improve every single day. He plays musical exercises with me, instead of forcing me to play something alone without giving me any guidance. We make jokes and have forged such a strong connection that learning with him is far from scary. Learning with Mr. Landaiche has become one of the most important aspects of my life, and his teachings have encouraged me to love playing clarinet just as much as he does. I have never seen someone so excited to play and make music together, and that makes me overjoyed to do the same. Music is his passion, and he has inspired me to make it mine as well. But most of all, Mr. Landaiche has stuck with me and continued to take time out of his week to bestow so much knowledge on me, all because he sees something in me, some potential, that he believes is worth something. That faith in me has truly made a difference. Every week when I see him, I not only feel how excited he is to teach me, but also how excited he is to see my progress and my skills building with each lesson. I want to go to college to become a math teacher. However, seeing the impact Mr. Landaiche has on me, it has inspired me to think about doing something similar for another student. In the future, I wish to give a student the same patience and respect that he has given me, and I wish to teach them just as he has taught me, with private lessons. I hope to one day change the life of a student in a positive and impactful way, just as Mr. Landaiche has done for me.

Ever since I can remember, I have only ever wanted to become a teacher. When my grandma would come over to visit, she and I would play school in her room even before I was old enough to go to kindergarten. Most kids change their minds every other week about what they want to do as a career, especially when they’re young, but I never once did. In a way, that has been comforting to me. It has erased some of the stress and anxiety of going through high school not knowing what I would like my future to consist of. I have always felt in my heart that I was put on this earth to help people, and teaching is just the way that I have chosen to do so. I want to be a role model for a new generation of students. I want to gain a deeper understanding of human connection and true patience. I want to change the lives of at least one of my students positively because some of my teachers have done the same for me. One thing I have learned throughout my school experience is that teachers have one of the most important jobs in the world. They provide a steadiness and a kindness that so many kids rely on and enjoy, and knowledge is power. By being a teacher, you bestow this knowledge onto young adults that will use some of it for the rest of their lives. Teachers have an impact, whether the students realize it or not. I wish to be that same steady presence that I have seen in my teachers through the years. Teaching is also an incredibly involved position to hold. Teaching at the secondary level, like I wish to do, can have its difficulties, and I am currently witnessing those every single day. That may be discouraging for some, but it only excites me more to be a part of something that evolves and changes each year, and something that is such an impactful experience in each and every student’s life. Education has meant so much to me, both because of my educational experience and because of knowing that I want to teach in the future. I know teaching is going to be my passion. It already is, in a way. When I am so comfortable and confident in this career, how could I ever think about choosing any other? I have had experience helping my peers in a similar fashion, and I am greatly looking forward to experiencing what it truly feels like to conduct learning in a classroom of my own with students that I will have the honor to build professional relationships with gradually throughout each year, and hopefully even build some connections that will last a lifetime.

Ever since I can remember, I have only ever wanted to become a teacher. When my grandma would come over to visit, she and I would play school in her room even before I was old enough to go to kindergarten. Most kids change their minds every other week about what they want to do as a career, especially when they’re young, but I never once did. In a way, that has been comforting to me. It has erased some of the stress and anxiety of going through high school not knowing what I would like my future to consist of. I have always felt in my heart that I was put on this earth to help people, and teaching is just the way that I have chosen to do so. I want to be a role model for a new generation of students. I want to gain a deeper understanding of human connection and true patience. I want to change the lives of at least one of my students positively because some of my teachers have done the same for me. One thing I have learned throughout my school experience is that teachers have one of the most important jobs in the world. They provide a steadiness and a kindness that so many kids rely on and enjoy, and knowledge is power. By being a teacher, you bestow this knowledge onto young adults that will use some of it for the rest of their lives. Teachers have an impact, whether the students realize it or not. I wish to be that same steady presence that I have seen in my teachers through the years. Teaching is also an incredibly involved position to hold. Teaching at the secondary level, like I wish to do, can have its difficulties, and I am currently witnessing those every single day. That may be discouraging for some, but it only excites me more to be a part of something that evolves and changes each year, and something that is such an impactful experience in each and every student’s life. Education has meant so much to me, both because of my educational experience and because of knowing that I want to teach in the future. I know teaching is going to be my passion. It already is, in a way. When I am so comfortable and confident in this career, how could I ever think about choosing any other? I have had experience helping my peers in a similar fashion, and I am greatly looking forward to experiencing what it truly feels like to conduct learning in a classroom of my own with students that I will have the honor to build professional relationships with gradually throughout each year, and hopefully even build some connections that will last a lifetime.

I only wish to have enough strength and steadiness in myself to give copious amounts of kindness, have faith in others wholly and completely, and be unapologetically me.