Passion

Passion can most readily be described as enthusiasm or excitement for a subject in which someone is usually dedicated. The passion that a teacher exhibits in his or her classroom is critical to the students appreciation and excitement for it as well.

I will never forget the passion that my eleventh grade United States History teacher had for her subject. In fact, she is what inspired me to study history and become interested in teaching. My teacher was extremely interested in learning about history and why things happened the way that they did. She frequently asked critical questions to make us think more about why our world is the way that it is. This was much more interesting to learn and think about rather than memorizing dates, names and locations. My most vivid memory of the class was when she told us to flip our desks over on the ground and make trenches. Then she began to teach us about World War One while we hit behind our desks on the hard ground. Surprisingly, it really made the material come to life when we were able to experience something outside of just another lecture and note taking.

On the other hand, a lack of passion in the classroom is really hard on the students. I had three poor math teachers in high school. None of them were excited to teach, or at least did not make it interesting to learn. Day after day we memorized one formula after another and the teachers did not apply it to real world examples. The lack of passion that these teachers had made me lose my motivation to learn math. Every year as I would go up one level in math I felt further behind than the rest of the class.

The amount of passion that a teacher has for his or her subject is going to affect kids in different ways, but I think it is safe to say that no kids will benefit from a lack of enthusiasm. Almost every kid will learn better if the teacher believes what they are teaching is important enough for the kids to know. Its not always the content that matters, but instead, digging deeper into the subjects and asking critical questions. I believe this is the strength that passionate teachers have over other teachers. They are able to ask deeper questions and have the kids answer critical questions and develop their minds in a way besides memorizing facts and spitting them back onto a page.

Passionate teaching is crucial to the development of a child. They often look up to their teacher as a role model and take the same interest in a subject that the teacher does. If an adult does not find math to be cool, then the kid will not think it is cool either. A passionate teacher has the ability to change and expand the minds of many kids if they are dedicated and enthusiastic about their area of study.