When I first started school, I wasn't like most kids in several respects. First of all, I actually started a year early, but I was always physically one year behind the rest of my class. I made up for being one of the smaller kids by focusing on academics. I really enjoyed reading and became a voracious reader and I had a burning passion to make good grades.

For the most part, I liked my teachers. There was one type of teacher I absolutely could not stand. Believe it or not, it was not the strict disciplinarian, nor was it the person who gave tough tests. I could handle both of those. The teacher I didn't like was the one that gave daily homework. I had some teachers that just felt like you had to have some assignment every single day. I can honestly say, looking back, that perhaps those …