Mr. Stirrup. by Tasha

Mr. Stirrup. by Tasha - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

During my senior year of high school, my math teacher made a huge impact on my attitude towards education. I was anxious when I saw he was going to be my math teacher for a few reasons. Math was not my strong suit and my friends who previously had him as a teacher said he could be a difficult teacher. Being my senior year in high school, I had “senioritis” and did not want to have to work too hard, so I considered asking for another teacher but a friend consoled me and said he was hard but it would be completely worth taking him over the other average math teachers we had. Finally senior year came and my first class of the day was college algebra with Mr. Stirrup. As I was walking in nerves set in but once class begun he reassured me. He seemed like a very nice, funny teacher but also strict and serious when we had to be, which is exactly how he was.

Throughout the year I grew to love his class and him as a teacher. He explained math in a completely different way, better than any other teacher I’ve ever had. He also spent as long as he needed to, to help you understand the concepts. I spent many days after school in the math lounge with him and other students. For once, I not only understood math but I excelled in it. He did not care how long he had to spend with you to help you understand, he just wanted to see us succeed. He really took an interest in our education unlike other teachers.

One of my most vivid memories of him was the Friday before prom. At the end of class we started packing up and all of a sudden he got very serious and very emotional, he told us, “no matter what time it is, no matter how much you have drank, call me and I will pick you up. I cannot bear to hear about any of you getting hurt because you didn’t make a smart choice. We need to look out for each other.” This really shows how much he really cared for us.

He proved time after time how much he cared about his students and education in general in so many ways. He even offered to help tutor me in my college math classes and we still keep in contact to this day. He is a wonderful, caring, genuine person that has truly made me believe there are still teachers out there who care.