I rarely think about teaching on teaching. It was interesting in class to reflect on what really makes a teacher. I had to think about teachers I had and what made them excellent teachers. Growing up, my mother worked as an elementary school teacher and I felt like I got an earful about her classroom. It did feel like she was often raising the kids she taught and also being their therapist. Taking a basic understanding of that and applying it to a middle school classroom was interesting. Middle Schoolers seem right at the age when they like enthusiasm but they can detect fakeness in a heartbeat. I was blown away by how smart the kids were and how creative they were, even after a long day at school. I thought it was most interesting with Raneisha, who seemed at first like she didn’t want to be there, but when it came down to it, she threw herself into the project at hand.