Emulating an Influential Teacher by Luis

Emulating an Influential Teacher by Luis - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

When I was in the 10th grade, I had the most brilliant Modern World History teacher any one can think of. The teacher was so passionate about history and could make the Conquest of Mexico sound like a Christopher Nolan movie. This man was hands-down one of the best teachers I've had; everyone who had him extremely respected him and learned to appreciate history. But aside from his teaching style, his personality was fantastic as well. He was always so honest and didn't seem to care too much for his students. The man would always assign last-minute homework and never suppressed a laugh whenever a student expressed discontent over a test. But his attitude never bothered me, if anything, I learned to love him and the class.

I loved the class so much, I began to fantasize myself in front of a class of students. I decided that teaching Modern World History would be a fun class because of its abundance of information and the challenge of teaching it well.

Seeing that my teacher took on a different persona for every time period, I figured I could treat Modern World History like an acting class. If I taught Modern World History, I would want to adopt a British accent when lecturing British Imperialism. To make the lecture more authentic, I would also pretend to believe in the Social Darwinist ideas that the British used to justify their actions and use it in my tests. When I lecture the Reformation or the Crusades, I can adopt the persona of a religious fundamentalist, and even bring a Bible to class for humorous effect. Personally, I believe that anyone who teaches Modern World History should have a very flamboyant personality who is willing to not only teach of a certain time, but act it. Doesn't that sound interesting?

I also want to teach Modern World History because of the dynamic discussions it incites. Modern World History is just full of ideas and beliefs that people held and still hold today. Just think for a moment, a class in a full-on debate whether Romanticism or Legalism is more suitable for human nature. If I taught Modern World History, I would make it my goal to offend every student of my class at least once. I am a staunch believer in the fact that everyone should be exposed to different ideas to fully create their own belief system. Learning the history of ideas in the World will not only teach someone what that idea was all about, but it will also teach them that idea in practice. For example, Modern World History teaches the effects of Imperialism, the dangers of Communism, and the glories of the Enlightenment. Each and every ideology of World History has served some important role still relevant today.

And lastly, I want to teach Modern World History to give students a sense of appreciation. In today's time, many people have something to complain about or something to go against, but no one seems to relish in the fact that we have come this far as a civilization. I want to give my students that same sense of awe that I have when I think of the Conquistadors conquering Mexico, or the brave Mahatma Gandhi peacefully rebelling against the British Empire. History has shown us in the 21st Century that humans are very capable of starting revolutions, creating new ideas, and making new discoveries. All I aspire to do with my students is show them the great achievements of our forefathers and inspire them to continue the Great Legacy of the Human Race.