Mr. Waters, Teaching More Than Just Physics by Alex

Mr. Waters, Teaching More Than Just Physics by Alex - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

Mr. Waters was my physics teacher when I was in ninth grade. He was considered a difficult teacher, but I saw a reason behind why he expected more from us. He knew that the world was hard out there and that we needed to value what we were doing if we were going to succeed at it. Those who were willing to do the work in his class and actually want to learn were able to do well in his class. He made it possible for us to succeed and expected us to do the work in order for us to succeed.

Because he made it possible, yet more difficult than my previous teachers, I took his class seriously. It opened a world of possibilities and made me consider an occupation in Physics, which is my intended major at this time. I will never forget the first day I showed up to his class and he had this question on the board that none of us could solve. He then helped us to go through the entire process of how to solve it, using a lot of information that we already knew, but that we hadn`t learned how to apply it. Now I see education as not just learning facts, but also learning how to use the information that I have to solve problems that I wouldn`t think I knew how to answer.

He also was one of the science teachers that tried to show practical applications in a fun way. We did many different labs and experiments including making a boat and trying to make it as buoyant as possible. Using the knowledge we had we were able to figure out which geometrical shape would work the best and use physics to figure out how much water would be needed to make it float. Because of Mr. Waters I not only value an education, but I seek it out daily. I want to learn how to solve problems. I want to learn what makes the world go round. Because of Mr. Waters, I am going to attend college to get a degree in Physics.