Impactful Teacher by Kendyl

Impactful Teacher by Kendyl - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

My sophomore year of high school I took the required “Lit and Comp 10” class, fully expecting it to be as dull and boring as the previous year. On the first day of this class Mr. Ford, the teacher, spent the entire class period learning our names. When I say the entire class period, I mean the entire class period. When the time rolled around for our second class with him, he greeted us each by name at the door and then proceeded to ask us each how we were doing. Little did I know, he would do this every class period for the rest of the year. After a week of being in Mr. Ford’s class I knew he had a passion for teaching that I had never seen before.
Mr. Ford had so much passion for each piece that we looked at in class. Which, naturally, made the students have the same amount passion. He made class discussions fun and made sure to involve all the students. He made every student share out, but it never felt like a burden for any of us, nobody was judged in his class. He allowed us to do many fun activities like watching movies and playing games but tied helpful educational elements into each of them. I have never had a teacher that made learning so easy and fun.
Being in Mr. Ford's class opened my eyes to an entirely new world of teaching and learning. Before taking his class, I was convinced that my classes would all be boring with careless teaching. I now know that classes can be educational while also having fun and entertaining components. His class allowed me to see how important it is for everyone in the classroom, teachers, and students alike, to be invested in the education journey and most importantly to form a community where everyone feels safe to share out and learn.
The summer after I had Mr. Ford as my teacher, he tragically passed away due to medical complications. I was devastated, as I knew that meant that no future generations would be able to experience his amazing teaching style and tight knit community. However, thinking about what it meant for him to be gone allowed me to realize something else. The students who were lucky enough to have Mr. Ford as their teacher could continue what he was trying to build.
Since then, I have made an effort to be very supportive of everyone at my school. I go to all sorts of sports events, choir events, theatre events, everything you could think of. Inside the classroom I try to work efficiently with everyone, asking their opinions and being supportive of everyone's ideas. I try to have fun with my assignments and try new techniques and ideas that I never would have thought to try before. Overall, these last two years since I gained this new mindset, I have been much more successful in and out of the classroom. I have great strong friendships all over the school and teachers who are continuously impressed with my work and ability to try new things.
Before Mr. Ford’s class I had a mindset that was fixed on the idea that school must be this boring event that we must force ourselves through. I would have never reached out to so many new people and met some of my closest friends. Not only the educational experience I have right now but my life in general would not have been the same without the impact of Mr. Ford. I am forever grateful for everything he did for me and the students at my school in his time here. If I could go back and tell him would thing, I would tell him that his class was more than impactful, it was life changing.