Why I Aspire To Inspire

Each person has some type of drive within them that fuels their desire to achieve the goals they have set out for themselves. Someone has inspired them to think beyond what is tangible and to look past common practices. Someone has challenged them to become something great and they have embraced this challenge.

For me, my Grandfather played a huge part in this. He was the principal of a small town high school and because of this he was always helping me with my homework and expanding my thought process to concepts beyond what we had covered in class. This extra exploration of knowledge outside of class was fun for me because he kept me engaged. It was fun to learn topics from the grade above and to read harder books before my peers did because he made it fun. My Grandfather had a way of connecting with me and explaining things in different ways until I understood. He taught me to read my math textbook and go through the sections until I found the ‘problem spot’. Then we would go over that ‘problem spot’ until I understood it and sure enough after this the rest of the lessons in the unit made sense.

My Grandfather was very patient and calm. He never made me feel unsmart or embarrassed. He took the time to help me and taught me about academic excellence. He taught me to never hand in a paper that I wasn’t completely satisfied with. He told me to find the part that was troubling me and work on it until it felt right. I did not know it at the time but the lessons he taught me have and will be with me for the rest of my life.  Lessons of hard work, striving for excellence, and being the best that I can be even when it is challenging.

As Arthur Ward said, ” The good teacher explains. The great teacher inspires.”

I hope to have the impact on my students that my Grandfather did on me and I hope to inspire my students to become the best that they can be.