Miriam Metze of KIPP Sunnyside High School

To Whom It May Concern:

180 days a year, 50 hours a week. That is how long KIPP schools are in session. As a student, I spent most of my time in classes. Being in class can be a very boring thing unless you have a teacher who really excels at their job. For me, that teacher was Lamar Johnson.

Mr. Johnson was my Social Justice teacher for seventh and eighth grades. In those two short years, he instilled values in me that I will carry for a lifetime. The lessons he taught me go way beyond the classroom. He taught me not only how to manage in any and every situation, but how to thrive. He is more than a teacher to me. He is a mentor, a counselor, a father figure. He takes the concept of teaching out of the classroom and into the real- life hard reality that we call the world.

Without Mr. Johnson, I wouldn’t know how to stand up for myself. I wouldn’t know how to articulate my thoughts effectively so that people will want to listen and really take something away from my words. He taught me to never take no for an answer. One of the most important things he said to me was, “You only lose when you stop fighting for yourself.” Ever since he said those words, I have fought for myself whenever it was necessary. With his encouraging words, sage advise and nurturing spirit, Mr. Johnson helped me find the voice that I didn’t think I had.

Although Mr. Johnson has moved on to other endeavors, he still has a place in my heart. He is the first teacher who really showed me that he genuinely cared about me, not just as a student, but as a person. I don’t expect that I will ever find another teacher as dedicated as Mr. Johnson. He is one in a million, and anyone who is fortunate enough to work with him should feel as lucky as I do. He really does care about the lives he touches in his lifetime.

Respectfully submitted,

Miriam M. Metze