Roles Reversed by Logan

Roles Reversed by Logan - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

Being a teacher is something that I have always pondered, wondering what it would be like. School has always been something I have not found the most entertaining. Whether it is a long boring lesson, or a monotone teacher, focusing on the task at hand is not always easy. By reversing the role of student and teacher, I believe that I could help students thrive to be their best in class. I would take history class, and make it the most entertaining class in the school, and this is how.

History is a subject that to most is a notoriously boring and dull class. Many students have trouble focusing on the lesson, and also with doing the homework the teacher assigns. With roles reversed there are a few things I would do to ensure a more interactive class to students. First off, I would eliminate homework from the class. Yes, homework can be important, but it also can be useless. A lot of teachers assign busy work and whatever is not done in class is considered homework, it is basically work that is used just to keep the students occupied. An end needs to be put to this, students do not learn from it, the majority of the time the students either rewrite information they found on the internet or they just do not do the work period. By eliminating homework, students will be more motivated to do their actual necessary class work on time, the reward of no homework is enough to keep most kids involved throughout the class period. Second, as a history teacher I would work to make my class more interactive and enjoyable for all. As it is now, most history classes are just lectures after lectures each day, and that can get extremely repetitive and boring. By creating projects, games, etc. the students learn to be more outgoing and their communication skills grow, along with being more involved in the class setting. Games such as "Kahoot" are loved by most students, it brings a competitive edge to class, and students all like to be a part of the group. Last, I would try to keep the curriculum as relevant as possible. No one likes going to class to listen to a bunch of bland information that you will never need to know in life. By highlighting the most important topics that actually may come up in real life, students will be more likely to listen. Getting rid of most of the small useless information will not hurt anyone, because it is unnecessary in the first place. Altogether, as a history teacher, I would make a few major changes with the goal of making the class more enjoyable for the student.

In conclusion, if I were to reverse my role and become a history teacher, I would make a few adjustments to the structure of the class. By getting rid of homework, making the class more interactive, and by throwing out useless information, I feel that students will be more adept to learning. Many students dread walking into boring classrooms each day, so as a history teacher I would work to ensure that each student will thoroughly enjoy my class.