In the fifth grade, I heard stories about the hilarious Mr. Sturm from other students and from “my” mom who had him as a teacher. I was really excited to have him as teacher just from hearing these great stories. I’ve never been so thrilled to have a teacher before.
My mom said, “He’s hilarious!” and my classmates said, “He gives free candy. You’ll love him!”
On the first day of sixth grade, I walked to Mr. Sturm’s classroom. He was standing outside his room with his warm cup of fresh coffee. The smell feathered my nose.  He was middle-aged with thin brown hair and glasses framing his face. The room is a normal classroom, but the doors opened to see Mrs. Korslin’s room next door. By the looks of his welcoming face, I could already tell this was going to be a great year.
  His teaching methods were extraordinarily. From doing a fake sacrifice on a real peasant to earning Cow Candy, he always made learning fun and pleasurable. We also got a chance to decorate the classroom in a Chinese theme and we enjoyed competing with the other sixth grade class. Every week, he would write a riddle and read it to us. Those who solved it, earned Cow Candy. Which was a delicious caramel melt away. 
He always had something clever to say, as did Mrs. Korslin. One of his clever sayings was, “There’s a squirrel in my picture.”  This meant that a student was doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing. My friends and I thought the saying was neat so we would use it as well.
Mr. Sturm is very outgoing and has a great personality. He would always talk about his dogs: Buck, Gus and Hank. He would also brag about his passion for hunting pheasants. There were pictures of his dogs with the pheasants they hunted on a board in the back of the classroom. He was obsessed, to say the least.
One clear moment I remember with Mr. Sturm was when I had a cut on my thumb by the nail. I asked him if I could have a Band-Aid. He said no. I thought, why not? “It’s a cut.” He told me, “You don't need one. Suck it up and rub some dirt on it.” Then he suggested I superglue it. I thought it was the oddest thing to do for a cut. But it worked! I would have never thought to use superglue. That was one trick I never forgot.
In seventh grade, we found out that our favorite teachers Mr. Sturm and Mrs. Korslin were retiring. Our class decided to do something nice for them for all of their hard work. We rewrote a song and sang it to them. Tears poured out of their eyes.  At that moment, I realized how much they truly cared about us and that I would miss them, especially Mr. Sturm.
Mr. Sturm made learning fun and effective. He was easy to talk to, and he provided me with guidance and confidence. I hope one day to find my own inner passion and put the same effort into pursuing something I love. He will always be in my memory and I’m grateful to have had him as a teacher.