ACTs, transcripts, and college visits--junior year is the most important time in any student’s education. It’s crunch time, make or break, and most of all, it is a time of stress.
As I left for school on the first day of my junior year, I remember feeling a wave of pressure surrounding me, reminding me of the winding road that lay ahead.
My first class of the day was Pre-Calculus with Mr. Hessler, who had coached my brother in football and knew my family well. As I entered the door, I was greeted by a familiar face that immediately calmed, what I have come to know as, my junior year jitters.
“Hey, T! Nice to see you!” he exclaimed.
I walked in the door with a sense of relief. Maybe junior year isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I thought. The room looked like every other math classroom I had ever been in, but the feeling it provided was one I’d never experienced before. The bell rang to begin not only the first class of the year, but a class that changed my life as a student.
As I listened to the first lesson, I was in awe at Mr. Hessler’s teaching abilities. In all of my years of monotonously sitting in class, I had never left a math period feeling as if I knew what I was doing. But as the end of first period approached, the passion behind Mr. Hessler’s teaching made me feel as if I was the only person in the room. He reminded me of a ballerina--king of his craft, gracefully moving from problem to problem, like he had known us forever.
Everyday when I walk into class, I am greeted by a quote on the board. Recently, as I read one particular quote, I realized it was the ultimate explanation of Mr. Hessler. A quote by Bruce Barton read: “If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.” Mr. Hessler is one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met. His passion for math is displayed in every lesson he teaches. I have yet to understand how he can fully engage a room full of twenty kids, especially when the subject he teaches is disliked by many.
No matter what math class I am in, there is always one kid who manages to say, “I am never going to use any of this in my life.” But one of my favorite things about Mr. Hessler is his ability to apply our lessons to the real world. In his class, I have the opportunity to be an engineer one day and a farmer the next. No one expects him to make the problems applicable to everyday life--but he does it because he knows it's something that is important to his students.
As a father of two, coach, and teacher, Mr. Hessler finds time in his busy schedule for his students. If I need help, I know I will be able to get in touch with Mr. Hessler, and count on him to be there for me. He would drop everything for his family, his players, and his students, which is why I believe he deserves to be noticed for his outstanding actions.
Mr. Hessler is one of the most liberating teachers I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I only hope that one day I will have as much charisma, passion, and dedication as him. I will always remember the first day I walked into his classroom, and I know I will forever dread the last.