If the Roles Were Reversed by Tessa

If the Roles Were Reversed by Tessa - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

If the roles were reversed, and I could teach any subject that is being taught to me, I would teach history. I spent my middle school years loathing any and every history class I took. I wasted most of my days in my eighth grade history class dreaming about the day where I would no longer be subject to three hour, black and white documentaries on trench warfare. Freshman at my high school did not have a history class available to them, so I held my breath through eighth grade, and breathed a sigh of relief when it ended.
I walked into class on the first day of my sophomore year, and I distinctly remember groaning about how much I dreaded history, especially after having had a year long break. That year, I fell in love with it. Previously, I had been taught out of old decrepit textbooks with maps that barely retained enough color to provide information any longer. However, my teacher taught with the knowledge he remembered and he was never afraid to admit when he was unsure of something. He would just temporarily stop class to figure it out. He made learning history a group experience and sometimes he was learning just as much as we were. Sadly he had to leave our school to be with his family elsewhere, but he had already made history interesting to me.
From then on, I took every history class offered to me. My sophomore year I finished World History with a great attitude and an even better grade. My Junior year I took American History and Contemporary U.S. History. This year, as a senior, I am taking Western Civilization I, Western Civilization II, and Government. My favorite part of every single day is history class even though I no longer have the same teacher.
It became blatantly obvious to me during my sophomore year that I wanted to be a teacher. I considered teaching history, but decided on elementary education. I want to make students feel a genuine connection to what they are learning. I want them to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and fall in love with school. For me, one of the main appeals of being a teacher is to help my students feel like my World History teacher made me feel: excited, comfortable, and ready to take on anything!