Teaching to the Choir by Vincent

Teaching to the Choir by Vincent - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

I want to be a teacher. I want to be able to help shape young minds. I want to have as positive an impact on someone’s life has my teachers have had on me. I want to adequately express how one teacher in particular shaped a love for education which keeps me going on. Ms. Jaquish was my teacher for three years. This is slightly unusual at the high school level, but she taught government and then I was part of a brand new two year class she taught, so do the math and ta-da you get three years. The reasons she was able to make such an impact has to do with her obvious love for teaching, the unique and engaging curriculum she offered, and the captivating way she talked with students.

When someone likes doing something that something is elevated. Think about it, when you see a play, for instance, the actors love of what they are doing make the play that much better. A teacher who loves teaching makes the class room that much better. If they love what they are doing they will go the extra mile and help students out. Ms Jaquish did this. I remember during sophomore year she would do study sessions for the AP US Government test. One of the days I went it was just me, her, and two other students. She stayed as long as we needed and worked with us has hard as she could to give us the information we need, and that just showed how much education meant to her. Seeing love for education in action is going to make students appreciate learning which is exactly what happened for me.

Part of what made her able to imprint such a love for her class is the fact that it was so unique compared to other classes. It was a class new to the school called Global Perspectives. The main reason it was so unique for the area is that it was a largely humanities based research class that was part of the Aice curriculum. Aice is basically the British IB. The class was largely up the teacher to decide what the class would learn, as a result of this; we were able to be engaged by a fulfilling and broad class covering everything from social media to ethical issues such as kidney selling. The way this helped improve my love of education is it showed exactly how diverse learning can be. This is all thanks to Ms. Jaquish.

Being able to talk to a teacher is beneficial. It connects you to their class easily as you start to care more. Ms Jaquish had the quality where you were able to just talk to her. There was a day where I came back to school after doing an AP test and just ended up talking to her. There is something amazing about her being able and willing to talk to a student. It just honestly showed that she cared beyond the base education, and even beyond what some excellent teachers give. She gave so much it was impossible not to give more than usual in exchange.

Ms. Jaquish is why I want to be a teacher. She has influenced me so much I can’t even adequately express it. A love for education has been given to me by her and that is something I will never be able to repay. She is one of those teachers you email in 10 years and tell them that no matter what they think, they made a difference. No matter what they think, you are eternally grateful for the values and strengths they have given you. Thank you Ms. Jaquish.