20/25 Vision by Bontu

20/25 Vision by Bontu - December 2015 Scholarship Essay

It’s 2025. The bell rings and there are students still shuffling into class with their backpacks making turtles out of them. Its 8:03 am and the last straggler makes it into my room while blearily rubbing their eyes. I stand up, half wishing that cup of coffee I had was actually two, but my voice booms through the classroom. The day’s lesson is told with as much enthusiasm and gusto to wake up my students as well as myself. The story of Harriet Tubman’s role as a spy for the Union army piques the interest of many students who are drifting off. By the time I reach the end of the war, there are ten hands in the air asking questions such as: “Was she ever married? Did she know Lincoln? How many people did she smuggle across the border?” I try and answer every question as quickly as I can and before I know it, the hour is done. A handful of students stay back to discuss anything that was confusing in today’s lecture.
Before I will know it, college will be done. All the studying till 2 am will be nothing but a fond memory and my dream as a teacher will be reality. There is nothing nobler than educating young people and helping to guide their morality. University of St. Thomas instills the idea of being a morally responsible leader while thinking critically, acting wisely, and working skillfully to advance the common good and that is something I hope to give my students in the future.
Teachers are more than the people that assign homework and spout facts. They are the ones that are with the next generation for six hours out of their day for however long they remain in school. As a teacher, I want to teach high school social studies. I want to change at least one person’s life so they can reminisce and think “Ms. Gemeda really helped to put me on track”. I want to ingrain in the future generation that intellect and knowledge opens up doors to places that they didn’t even know existed. I want them to incorporate their morals into thinking critically about the past and how that may affect their future. It’s a lofty goal but it is one that I hope to strive for and achieve when I graduate.