Passion

When I think about passion in regards to teaching I think of Jim Halvorson, my AP calculus teacher. Mr. Halvorson absolutely loved to teach and you could see it every single day of class. He was one of the oldest teachers I had all through high school, yet he was very youthful and exciting in his teaching. At his age, I wondered if he was going to retire soon and why he had not done so already, but I believe he would much rather continue teaching over a boring retirement.
He made math class one of my favorite subjects, even though it was math! Every day we would start with something fun such as a survey or video clip, just for enjoyment. He also had a great sense of humor and would always jokes or funny stories from his past. The most impressive thing to me though was how much effort he put in to the class. There were a few students in the class that struggled a bit, but wanted to be in the AP class anyways. Mr. Halvorson would spend countless hours helping every student that asked for it. No matter how many times we had to go over a subject, he was always willing to help. Several times he offered to stay after class or even go in before school started to give us extra help, even though I'm sure he would prefer his home comforts. One of my most vivid memories of him was during an interview with our school news program, in which he was asked why is he still teaching today? He responded "I've been teaching for along time, and searching for the perfect lesson plan. I still have not found that, and that is why I am still teaching." He also never missed a day of class, and I was extremely impressed by this dedication. Overall I felt like Mr. Halvorson wasn't just a great teacher, but a great person; he was extremely passionate about teaching and dedicated himself to his career. For these reasons, he is the perfect example or a teacher that made their subject much more interesting through their enthusiasm. He is also a strong reason why I am interested in teaching today.

-Mike