As of 12:38 this morning, this petition has 1,085 supporters. I cannot even begin to explain how proud and humbled I am that so many people have taken a chance on not only this petition, but me. One comment reads, “This is wonderful. Lara, if you're seeing this, we teachers appreciate your concern for us, and the empathy and excellent character it demonstrates.” This comment exhibits the main reason I began this petition in the first place: the importance of our teachers. These are the people who gave us the gift of confidence, the people who hug and comfort the stress of trying to achieve our goals away, and the people who educate the future leaders of the world. Mike Miles is slowly stealing away their creativity and fighting spirit! One of my teachers sports the motto “I am afraid of no man,” and this has recently become a sentiment that moves me as well. I strive to gain the confidence and become afraid of NO man, especially those I see performing an injustice to the masses. I am fully committed to fighting for the rights of these deserving teachers. Our teachers deserve higher salaries, not because they are money hungry, but because they are responsible for educating generation after generation. The educational system does in fact have have its flaws, yet each and every one of you benefitted from this same system. Are you without knowledge? Are you fundamentally behind your peers? Are you career ready? No. Well thank a teacher, one who worked the system that you are intent on “reforming.” The system did not fail you, nor will it fail us. But your teachers did not live in the kind of oppressed environment that mine live in. One where they’re riled with fear, anger, and distrust. I intend to passionately keep our voices heard by not only the school board, and the media, but by bringing these issues to Mike Miles himself. Andy Rooney once said, “Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives.” I am fighting for the teachers that I still think about often, the people who have shaped me into the fearless and compassionate person I am today and the woman I will become in the future!