Redundancy's Threat by Katrina

Redundancy's Threat by Katrina - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

Katrina Dunning
September 9, 2016
I am highly competent when the situation entails submissively sitting in hard plastic chairs amongst generalized students, just another ID number on the roll call. Some teachers had hidden agendas whilst others were genuinely concerned in my best interest… But what if the roles were reversed? What if my voice held substantial weight to other minds? Influencing 50 different students seated before me during multiple times of the day presents the opportunity to assume responsibility of supplying trustworthy facts and unbiased opinions. Although my highest aspirations are driven by an interest in science and math, my choice subject to teach is history.
I would embark my students on a journey of learning about historic events, what led to the events, how people were sustained, and what decisions could have improved the outcome. Teachers hold the power to influence potential world changers and decision makers of our society. As we saw with Hitler’s unsuccessful attack on Russia after Napoleon’s unsuccessful attack on Russia and today’s fashion following fashion of the 1980’s, history repeats itself if we do not learn from our mistakes. Global devastations certainly impact citizens directly involved, but as time proceeds the memory dwindles on the occasion we fail to educate subsequent generations, which in turn evokes repetitive occurrences. Enlightening upcoming generations sets them on a more stable course having learned lessons without experiencing the pain.
The objective of my course would not be limited to memorizing historic events. My desire is for students to understand the power that leaders have, the extent to which decisions affect the rest of the country/world, and what kind of power they have as average citizens. Assignments in my classroom would inspire and prepare students for life after high school. Centralizing their focus on the steps ahead instead remaining in a stagnant mindset in which high school is the climatic area of their life and growing ceases. Coursework would include requirements to discover their future, their passion, their ideal achievements for the future of our country and actions to set their goals in motion. All of these assignments will create an ambitious mentality to greatly impact the world. I want them to make an impact somewhere, to be part of something bigger than themselves, to not be limited by small thinking. The world does not fit into a box. Our abilities do not fit into a box. I would provide them with an explosion of ideas inspiring them while giving them a small push to persevere through obstacles along the way; emphasizing that their actions should be worth remembering. History shapes our country and each decision we make becomes a part of that history.
A teacher has more power in their words than they realize. Future surgeons, therapists, politicians, world-class athletes, preachers, entrepreneurs, artists and all those in between predominantly rely on teachers for infallible information. Students deserve to be empowered with knowledge to deliberately lead them down a path of attainable success. Ultimately, I’d choose to be a history teacher in hopes to steer future adults away from unnecessary repeated mistakes, and instill in them the core values of basing their decisions on something bigger than themselves, always striving to be rich in wisdom, thinking for themselves and living with compassion. If the roles were reversed, I would take my place at the front of a history class, provide them with facts allowing them to arrive at their own opinions and conclusions, knowing I did my best to positively influence them.