The Teacher Who Changed My Life Essay

Why is there racial tension and political dissension in America? Why did Russia feel its Crimean invasion was justifiable? How did China become an economic power? These questions are answered by a proper understanding of history, helping us to better comprehend the world of 2015. Education’s role needs to be thus: to prepare students as learned individuals and to exist in such an international community. This is why I think history is still incredibly relevant despite focusing on the

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the modern world, but history still affects the way people think today due to the close-minded nature of uninformed citizens. In Castro’s “On Becoming Educated,” she accepts the fact that ignorance is overwhelmingly prevalent in today’s society; however, she works to fill “the academy’s blind spots” (Castro 270) by pushing others to recognize all sides of an argument and be curious about historical events and changes that affect them. Throughout her many journeys with literature courses, Castro found the choice of books to be rather narrow-minded. In retrospect, she “[realizes] that these small incidents were negotiations of power” (Castro 268), and conserving socially accepted positions on issue was more important to certain professors than challenging those beliefs. Historically, the process of shying away from debating and acknowledging other’s opinions has always been a norm. Castro acknowledges this connection between present day life and the past by broadening her perspective through words and generally referring to the what has already occurred in history. Overtime and with teaching experience, Castro has “learned not to back down” (Castro 269) when presented with opposing opinions. In regards to welcoming students with different

He alludes to an argument that states students learn far too little when the teacher’s personal presence is not available because the student has more to learn from the teacher than the texts.

I teach history because I want students to fully understand the perspectives of other groups of people who have been silenced and marginalized.” I was able to observe her 10th-grade world history class.

If there is one reason for a student to attend a history class, it is that he can learn from the mistakes

Growing up, my family attended countless historical sites and museums, which taught me to appreciate history at a young age. This appreciation and passion for history was enhanced by one of my high school history teachers, Stephanie Hornstein. She is an exuberant, intelligent and dedicated teacher whose excitement for history is contagious. In her AP United States History class, I was able to develop my critical thinking skills and my passion for being able to study history in greater depth and share that with others. I hope that studying history will provide me with a greater perspective on world and United States events and their impact today on society.

Bostein’s idea of intensifying real world issues/situations in young pupils’ learning experience would prepare them for the future. To demonstrate, Diane Ravitch- a former Assistant Secretary of Education and research professor of education at New York University- says that “We want to prepare them for a useful life… Think for themselves when they are in the real world” (Source 5). The author’s idea here is parallel to Bostein’s idea that the real world needs to get involved with the schools now. Students wouldn’t just be learning math or history- classes that they might not use extensively in the future. Students would instead be getting hands on experience to see what they like or may not like to have a successful future. Additionally, Todd Gilton, an author and university professor, states that students are “Ill-prepared to learn” and that “A strong liberal-arts curriculum could teach them about their history, their social condition, themselves” (Source 2). He helps the readers see that the American education is not setup properly and that there should be an adjustment in curriculum. Gitlin suggests that educators should focus less on the math and sciences, although those are pertinent, and put more focus on real world situations. These situations could include bills, jobs, etc. He helps the reader picture what a strong liberal arts curriculum would do for the pupils future: it would allow them to get a grasp on what they appreciate and what they want to do in the future to become prosperous. In conclusion, adding real world situations and issues into schools’ curriculums would aid students into a more fulfilling future.

Choosing an American government and history teacher was an easy choice because it was a my favorite subject, and we call can benefit from the teachings of the past. “We thought nothing could be worse than world war one, then guess what? World war two cam along.”said Mr. Bo Tillman, a passionate history and government teacher at Lafayette High School, during mid-interview, this was his response to a question about why history and government became his focus. “If you don't learn from it you know, everything rolls back” Bo Tillman helped me understand this country, the American government, the life lessons we can learn from everything in our history, and its direct translation to our daily lives.

For every change within a society, personal changes with “self” must happen. These social changes are important to people while, people who don’t benefit from it think changes within the self isn’t important for social changes. Personal change is a journey a person takes of discovering something within themselves and acting upon a social change. That social change is society evolving to better ways. Jane Goodall talks about her experience in a moment of truth with self being absent in a moment of need in her writing titled In the Forest of Gombe, where she spends a few weeks in the forest following chimpanzees has helped her cope with her grief of her husband. She comes to the realization that her “self” was nonexistent and everyone in

These past four years have really been a life changing experience. From a childish freshmen not only at school but at home too, to a still sometimes childish senior, one who knows when and how to control himself. This school and its teachers have taught me so many lessons that will not be forgotten any time soon.

The three things that have made the biggest impact on and have influenced my life that shaped me into the person I am today are family background, experiences from my school year, and religious beliefs. Our culture provides a lens through which we view the world and interpret our everyday experiences. In order to know who I am today, I must look at who you’ve been. Many educators around the country are interested in developing a multicultural approach in their teaching. They find themselves in classrooms with 25 children of varying racial and cultural backgrounds, and are looking for ways to connect what they do in the classroom to the cultures represented by their students. Before we can begin to understand others, however, we need to understand ourselves and what we bring to our interactions with others.

In my life, I have been exposed to a challenge called change. Change can occur in many different ways and is dealt with in many different ways. I have come to the awareness that change can be the deepest of all things. I always thought that change occurred when you moved to a state or when you lost someone real close to you. Those are a challenge to change, yes, but change doesn’t have to occur over a climactic incident. It can just appear overnight when your brain winds up when it’s time to do something different. Even with friends that you used to have and know that move on. For example, most of my friends from elementary school, I don’t even talk to them anymore.

For some reason or another certain students are drawn to particular teachers while other students are more fond of others. In my life I have studied under three memorable teachers. Teachers with which I was able to connect, to laugh, to share my misgivings. While I may have been close with each of these teachers, it is very clear, in retrospect, that each was very unique, and represented an entirely different class of teacher.

The end of school came eventually, and I abandoned dreams of the sixth grade. Luckily, I was transferring to another elementary school, but this offered me little consolation. Only dummies have to repeat a grade.

This explains the beginning of my life all the way to the end of my life. My life from the beginning was very fun as I grew up living with my mom’s friend and my friend. But there were a lot of fights and I was very hyper back then. I have ADHD so back then when I was little; I was very hyper and wouldn't stop moving around the place. I always was annoying back then and never seemed to get my homework done at school.