The Love of Learning by Nicholas

The Love of Learning by Nicholas - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

By the time you reach college, you have already had a lot of teachers. I have truly been fortunate as most of my teachers have been really good teachers, while a few have even been great teachers, and several of my teachers have actually been outstanding. The great and especially the outstanding teachers did far more than teach specific subjects, or present relevant material. The truly special teachers actually teach their love of learning to their students, and this is how they connect to their students. As their student, I can feel their passion, I can absorb their knowledge, and I learn far more than their prepared lesson.

Certain teachers have an innate ability to connect with their students in this special way. I am not certain if they even know that they have this gift, as they tend to be the teachers who are generally more humble, and even apologetic at times. They point out their own mistakes or shortcomings openly. They choose to continually sharpen their craft of teaching on a daily basis, and they actually improve with experience.

My piece of advice that I would give a teacher would be to first focus on teaching your love of learning, show your students who you are (shortcomings and all), and work hard on connecting with your students from the start of the school year. Of course the material and coursework is very important, but that will be delivered and learned over time. But you only have so much time to make that initial connection with your students. Once your students feel your passion and learn who you truly are, they will want to come to your class, and will actually look forward to your class. I have had certain classes that felt like safe havens in my very hectic day. It did not matter so much what the subject was, but who the teacher was and how they made me feel, both about the subject and about myself.

One of my former high school teachers, who was truly special, nominated me for a prestigious leadership award (I was surprised to later learn that I actually ended up winning the award). At a district-wide awards night the same teacher had to present me to the audience. She later admitted to me that she felt she was not as polished as some of the other presenters that spoke that night before the fairly large audience. She actually apologized to me for her shortcomings as a public speaker! I looked her in the eye and told her the truth. I told her that she was one of the best teachers I have ever had! I told her that I did not care about her public speaking ability, but thanked her profusely for what she had done for me. She saw something in me that I did not see in myself; she saw that I could shine in my writing, she convinced me to share some of my writing before the entire school at something we call "Writer's Week". She had taught me her passion for writing, and it was contagious. She actually converted a "math and science guy" like me to realize the importance of working on the craft of writing, instead of focusing on what came easy and natural to me. She gently pushed me and prodded me far from my comfort zone, and for that I am grateful. She is still inspiring me as I recently completed a mandatory college writing class, and I have never worked harder for an A-; I often wondered how she would have graded my college papers.

I recently wrote some thank-you email notes to several of my past teachers. They were not generic, obligatory thank you notes; they were extremely specific in nature. I thanked each teacher for what they had taught me, what I had learned from them and the for the deep impression that they made on me. I filled them in on how life was going for me in college. I truly want to stay connected with these teachers. No one told me to write these notes; it was not an assignment for a class. But it was taught to me indirectly by some great and outstanding former teachers who really connected with me. I now consider them to be friends, and they deserve to be thanked.