An Unforgettable Teacher by Kelly

An Unforgettable Teacher by Kelly - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

Every fall students are faced with new teachers and new subjects. The students walk into the classroom with perplexed minds about the course and the teacher. From day one, that teacher must stand out and engage the students in their course and themselves as a person, or they will immediately lose interest. When I think back to one of my first days in the fall, one teacher comes to my mind. His name is Mr. Prondzinski.

Every teacher seemed somewhat normal as they described themselves and the class that they would be teaching. When I sat down in Mr. Prondzinski's room, it was different. He had a very intimidating aura about him right from the start. He stood at the front of the classroom and introduced himself as the class sat silently. He then talked about the parts of the class that we would struggle with. That was definitely not how any other teacher started their introduction, which is why he stood out so clearly and was different from any other teacher that I had ever had. With that being said, many students dropped the class because it seemed too difficult. That was exactly what Mr. P wanted, the best students in his class.

Mr. Prondzinski's intimidating personality was what first pushed me to succeed in the class. I did not want to disappoint him, because he was a little frightening to me. After getting to know him, I realized he had so many great qualities about himself, which made him a great teacher. He was the most determined and dedicated teacher that I had ever had. I had never seen a teacher want his students to succeed in the way that he did. He had the ability to engage every single student and push them to their full potential. It was incredible the way that he could change a student's work ethic. Before that year, I did not like school and did not try hard. I did what I needed to do to get by. After having a teacher that was so passionate and inspiring about his job, it completely changed my judgement. I now go above and beyond with everything that I do and give it everything that I have. I am so incredibly grateful that I had such a determined teacher. He taught me an enormous amount of information that would help me to succeed in his class and the rest of my education career. Additionally, he taught me a lot about myself and life. His passionate teaching had such a positive effect on me and my attitude towards education.