When I was in high school I was constantly mocked by several teachers for being stupid and lazy when in reality I was going through severe depression and just couldn't get myself to get my homework done (which counted for more than tests which I always passed with A's or B's) and English was the worst. I always loved reading and had college senior level reading since middle school but homework was the only thing that mattered. I had a teacher when I was 16, Mr Armstrong... he would let me come by after school and even though I was failing his class we would talk about different books, he would give me new books to read, just overall helped me put big time as a mentor (he had a forced curriculum as a new teacher and would always slip me bonus points where he could for the extra books I was reading) He was one of the only teachers that made an actual impact on my life and the only teacher that cared about me as a person. He unknowingly stopped me from attempting suicide multiple times and I'm forever grateful to have had him in my life. Our students need more teachers like you who really care about the students...