I’d bet that I speak for many when I say that middle school is probably the most awkward if not cringe-worthy time of one’s adolescence. It’s a metamorphosis where hormones and mood swings fly as it introduces us to the world we would face in high school. I have many memories I do want to remember and others I want to be locked away and buried under the Earth and I’m sure I’m not the only one. But in this phase of awkwardness, Mrs. Mora stood out to me as a teacher that not only taught well and guided students who were in her class but for coping and even relating to middle schoolers suffering from this phase of adolescence. I certainly have learned a lot from her classes and I have definitely enjoyed my time interacting with her.

I had Mrs. Mora in three different classes during my stay at First Avenue Middle School. I had her for Broadcast Journalism, English 7, and AVID 8 and those were classes I do not regret taking. I vividly remember in Broadcast Journalism where she keeps a ragtag group of 7th and 8th graders together to make the news each morning. I only had a shift for one day a week but being in two of her classes combined with FAMS’ rotating schedule I saw a lot of mistakes and successes the morning news had. Sometimes one of the crewmembers would fool around and something funny would happen on the broadcast but I remember Mrs. Mora handling it pretty well and calmly reprimanding students.

I also remember her giving us quite a lot of freedom in English 7. I recall different projects that we did in class and she opened the door for us to use our creativity to make something new. In retrospect, the projects I created, mainly one about the “evils” about the fast-food industry and another called “Taxes in a Nutshell”, are pretty cringy. But Mrs. Mora, though she did joke about a few of these projects, respected them and treated it pretty formally which is quite uplifting to a small middle schooler who thinks they know what they are doing but honestly does not. Nevertheless, she was a great teacher who continued to encourage us throughout middle school.

In terms of when I had her in AVID 8, it was quite different as I found myself not enjoying the class as much as I did when I was in AVID in 7th grade. I did not find many friends beyond an enclave of two or three people I could get along with. I could also see that Mrs. Mora had frustration with controlling the class as well. But despite the difficulty of making the students in the class be competent and trying to control their rambunctious behavior, Mrs. Mora didn’t just succeed at mostly keeping the class focused, but she also got along well with some of the more troublesome students. That in itself made AVID 8 a much better class than it would have been.

Overall, I have fond memories of being in Mrs. Mora’s class and I cannot thank her enough for being one of the best teachers I ever had. Her support during middle school changed my middle school experience for the better. Thank you, Mrs. Mora!