About Mrs. Thornton

After 22 years I get the chance to acknowledge one of my most favorite teachers in the world. Even after all these years Mrs. Thornton still stands out as one of the kindest most righteous teachers I have ever known. I am Sarah Al Khajah and I’m from the United Arab Emirates. I joined ACST in 1993. I was in the seventh grade and I was a very shy and quiet 13 year old. I remember being so nervous in my first English class with Mrs. Thornton even though the rest of the students seemed laid back and at ease. I sat rigid, motionless just staring at my new teacher following her every word and her every move. Sitting there completely silent and wide eyed I remember Mrs. Thornton pausing in the middle of her lecture, she looked at me and asked me in front of everyone “Do you understand?” I think in my effort to appear studious and concentrated and being so nervous I appeared a little lost and overwhelmed haha… totally not the impression I wanted to give. As the weeks passed by I became more at ease and comfortable in her class and I understood why everyone else was, because that’s how you eventually felt in Mrs. Thorntons class, you felt safe and at ease. I never felt that way in any other class before, Mrs. Thornton had this calm, motherly and safe aura around her whenever she taught us and where ever she went.

The things I learned in Mrs. Thornton’s English class weren’t just academic but character building as well. She didn’t just teach from the books she taught from the heart. Mrs. Thornton was passionate about English and literature and that passion resonated in class and kept us captivated.

Thinking back to my English lessons, I never understood the concept of keeping a reading journal but today I wish my children kept one as well in their school. I always liked to read but in Mrs. Thornton’s class I read with passion. One of her most famous quotes was: “A good reader is a good writer,” and that motivated me to read even more. I learned the different symbols used to edit writing and I learned the proper methods of bibliography.. things that I wish kids learned more of today.

All I can say is I wish more teachers taught the way Mrs. Thornton taught. It actually saddens me that in today’s technologically crazed, iPad obsessed, fast paced generation, children lack the basic tools and motivation required for reading and writing properly. I find myself at parent teacher conferences constantly referring to my old teachers and comparing them to my children’s current ones. I would always recount the way I was taught by my former teachers such as Mrs. Thornton as opposed to the way they are taught today.. With Mrs. Thornton we were the golden generation of students receiving only educational excellence.

Mrs. Thornton if you are reading this I want you to know I am who I am today, a passionate reader, writer and mother because of you. After grade 11 my family moved to Brussels, Belgium. The English teachers there were impressed by my writing and most of the books we were assigned to read I had already read years before with Mrs. Thornton. English class was just too easy after her and my writing assignments were always praised and read out loud. I owe all that to you Mrs. Thornton.

I am glad I had the honor to be one of Mrs. Thornton’s students. We read and wrote things beyond our years which made us wiser and better learners. Teachers today could learn a lot from teachers such as Mrs. Thornton. Thank you Mrs. Thornton and bless you for everything.