CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS—Leslee Justice is an English teacher at Flour Bluff High School. She teaches English II and AP English Language and Composition. Unbeknownst to most, Justice seems to have a dark side.
“I sit around and dream up new ways to make my student’s academic lives terrible. I go home each night, put on my thinking cap in my evil teacher’s lair, and begin to make list after list of all the things you all hate. I then take the lists and make them into assignments. I love creating assignments and essays and projects. Each one is an exercise in torture,” said Justice.
Later on, Justice revealed that her statement was not, in fact, the truth.
“Ok—Here’s my real answer. I became an English teacher because I believe in the power of language to change our world for the better. I want my students to feel empowered to speak and write about the things in their lives they care about,” said Justice.
Throughout her career, Justice has relied on one quote as the reason she became a teacher: “What is success? To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate the beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch Or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded,” (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Justice is the only AP Language and Composition teacher, allowing the juniors around FBHS to get to know her better and hopefully get a three or above on their AP test.
Justice has helped students around the school reach lengths they couldn’t have reached before with their writing.
“Teaching has been and will continue to be the place where I laugh often and much, work to win the respect of intelligent students and earn the appreciation of students who begrudgingly enjoy my favorite authors. I became a teacher because I have the audacity to hope for the future. I hope that my students see the transformative power of language, the beauty of their intellectual curiosity, and their ability to create change for others. I hope that their lives are better because they have made my life better. My students through the years have taught me many things – namely, to never take this place or this time too seriously. I hope the world will be kind to them,” said Justice.
