Recently, I shocked my peers here at the College of Wooster by telling them that in my hometown we played "Paper Scissors Rock" by opposed to “Rock Paper Scissors,” and we call shopping carts “buggies.” Yet nothing surprised them more than the fact that I had fewer than 240 students in my public high school. To many of them, such a small school seems irrational, and they struggle to understand how I could have received a quality education at such a school. What they don't understand is that a school doesn't have to be a large public school or an elite private school to provide students with an education that will prepare them for the future. With a strong teaching staff and a focus on high-achieving academics, even the smallest schools can produce excellent students. Most people have a high school teacher they will never forget. They come back years after graduation and thank said professor for everything he did for them. Just as Cedric Jennings in A Hope in the Unseen was very close to his teacher Mr. Taylor, students find teachers everywhere who become their mentors (Suskind 6). For me, several teachers have had a positive influence on my life, but none as much as my English teacher, Ms. Iberis. According to many people, Ms. Iberis was “too smart” to be a teacher. She had been enrolled in medical school at Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine, but then decided to get her master's degree in English and become a high school teacher. Most people considered her a little crazy because of this career choice, but I admired her for pursuing her passion and sharing her knowledge with us. Without good teachers, how can we hope to end... middle of paper ... Lowellville schools are proof that good public schools exist, and I am proud to be an alumnus. . My educational philosophy is deeply rooted in recognizing the importance of academics and making school a place where students enjoy being and, therefore, learning. Also, I firmly believe in the vitality of competent teachers. Without good teachers, no other profession can develop its full potential because future generations will not be properly trained. The first step to improving education in America is to begin viewing teaching as a respectable profession and recognizing its importance to our future. Works Cited Conley, Dalton. Honky. New York: Vintage Books, 2000. Khan, Shamus Rahman. Privilege. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011. Suskind, Ron. A hope in the invisible. New York: Broadway Books, 1998.