Lucky to have him

I never had a father, though in my neighborhood that's not unusual. I know some kids just like me. You have to watch yourself. There are fights and killings all the time. I have friends who 1.              up in jail or pregnant. I could have ended up that way, too, 2           Mr Clark and my mom wouldn't let that happen.

Mr Clark worked long hours, 3.               sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact, I did so well that in sixth grade, I entered the gifted class, and Mr Clark was the teacher. I felt so 4.             to have him for a second year!

He took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera. Before the show, he 5.             us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk 6.       our mouths full. We didn't want to let him 7.            ，so we listened to him attentively.

None of us were surprised when Mr Clark was selected as Disney's 2000 Teacher of the Year. When he learned he'd won, he said he would 8.               three names out of a hat; he would go to Los Angeles to get the 9.           with those students. But 10.              it came time to draw names, Mr Clark said, “You're all going.”

He got donations to fly all 37 of us out to Disneyland in California and put us up at the Hilton. People were 11             ，but Mr Clark really cared about us. There's no way I can imagine most teachers doing that. No way.  But he saw something in us that 12.              else saw.

On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn't want his class to 13.             . In the new school year, we were all happy when Mr Clark 14.                up in our class once again. He's been a constant in our lives.

In 2003, Mr Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to display school supplies and visit orphanages. It was the most amazing 15.              of my life. It's now my turn to one day start a group of women's clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.