If it weren’t for Mr. Bisbee, I probably wouldn’t be majoring in biology next year in college. During my freshman year at Arrowhead High School, I could hear all the sophomores talking about how difficult biology was to learn. I was extremely nervous, knowing that I signed up to take that class next year. Seventh hour, walking into his room for the first time, I looked to my left and I saw a man in a colorful tie (whom I assumed was Mr. Bisbee), feeding crickets to real life snakes inside an aquarium.
Throughout that year of biology, I focused so much even though I sat in the back of the class. Mr. Bisbee had our class study bean plants for a long time, and eventually we had to write a very long lab report on it. It was very time consuming, but it was genuinely enjoyable. It taught me how to incorporate all the information I have learned into one report, along with my organization skills.
We learned about the ecological relationship between wolves and deer, and what the effects were on populations of the deer if wolves were removed or added. We learned about cells, and DNA, and none of it was boring. Before he started teaching, he used to go around the world to study turtles and other “critters” — as he would call them. He clearly loved sharing this information with his students, and he had such a passion for informing people on topics that he loved. The way that he talked about certain topics made me want to learn as much as possible. This taught me that if I really wanted to engage in a lesson, I could really absorb the material. All I have to do is put my mind to it.
By the end of my sophomore year in high school, I didn’t want the biology class to end. I knew he taught one other class at North Campus called biotechnology, so I signed up for that as soon as I could. The first day of biotechnology class, he gave us a yellow sheet of paper. It was a skit between two people named Bing and Bong, and it would introduce the lesson that we were about to learn. He had us act it out with lots of emotion because he knew that would form better mind connections in our brains. Every time he started a new lesson, he would always give us a skit to read from Bing and Bong. I had this class during first period every other day, but I would still look forward to showing up every single day.
I will never forget him and his dedication to his students. He pushed every single one of us to become a better student than we ever thought we could be. On top of all the things I have learned from him (biology wise), I have also learned so many life lessons from him. Nothing just comes easy. You have to work for what you want.
Once again, I want to thank and recognize Mr. Bisbee for everything he has done for me and all the students that at any point in their life have or will attend his class.