She walked in calmly and quietly, just as a professor in a college lecture hall would.  The class was just as a freshman fourth period would be; crazy and chaotic.

Mrs. Martin takes a sip of water as the bell rings and every student sits down.  The silence doesn’t last long.  The students start chatting again.  Mrs. Martin stands, still composed, by her podium in the front of the classroom and waits for the students to quiet down.  When they see her, the talking falters and the eyes of the students move to her.

“How many of you think you passed your tests this week so far?” she said.

Two students raised their hands and murmurs went from student to student asking what she was talking about.

“Your finals.” Mrs. Martin said with a smile then went on explaining the review for the final to the students.

“You guys are trying to impress me, no just saying the easy answers.” She smiled again, clearly impressed after a student answered a more advanced question.

“Mrs. Martin is very relaxed, expressive, intelligent, understanding, helpful, and really nice too,” one of her students, Lauren Kee, said. “She doesn’t just pass out papers to do.  She is more active in her teaching, and her class is the most fun.”

According to her students, Mrs. Martin isn’t like most teachers; during down time she doesn’t just sit there, she makes conversation with her students and treats them like equals.

“I love watching young adults succeed.  I enjoy being part of the process that makes them become who they are meant to be,” Mrs. Martin said.