Charlotte Sarnowski: An Influential Teacher

The most influential teacher I had was my senior year English teacher, Charlotte Sarnowski. She was a hard-working teacher who earned the respect of all students, regardless of their academic ability. As a native New Yorker who was transplanted to what was at that time a small southern town, Mrs. Sarnowski was different from many of the other teachers at my high school. I truly enjoyed her class because she challenged how I thought. Mrs. Sarnowski was an inspirational teacher to me because she saw all students as learners, set high expectations, and challenged our small-town mindsets. During my senior year, Mrs. Sarnowski taught my advanced placement English class and the lowest level English classes. She saw the highest performers as well as the lowest performers every day and was respected across the spectrum. She saw all of us as learners and saw her job as facilitating our learning. We were allowed and encouraged to express our opinions and thoughts on the texts that we read. Mrs. Sarnowski listened intently, asking questions where needed to push us to delve deeper into the meaning behind the passages. Each class was also given the opportunity to choose the texts that they wanted to

Sarnowski was not the easiest teacher in my high school career. However, she was the teacher that I enjoyed the most because she set high expectations and believed that I could reach them. This thought process did not end at the end of the period. She continued to believe that every student who walked through her door had the potential to learn so she engaged us, pushed us, and believed that each of us could rise to the challenge. Students of all abilities were willing to put in the extra hours necessary at home and attend groups outside of school in order to meet the goals and expectations laid out in the classroom. I even remember having early morning sessions with Mrs. Sarnowski before the school day began and not hearing any complaints about getting up