Education Past the Textbook

Education Past the Textbook

Growing up, I never really had a specific role model, unless you count Pocahontas. I just couldn’t find one specific person that I wanted to be just like. Clearly, I had a little misconception about role models. Role models are not someone you want to be for Halloween. This realization opened up the world of mentors to me. I have TONS of people that I look to for guidance. With school being back in session, a few specific ones come to mind. (There’s no way you’ll ever guess the first one!)

My advisor, Mrs. Weltmer (Ok, so you might have seen that one coming.) As is true for many FFA members, my advisor changed my life. She pushed me to try new things, encouraged me to apply myself in classes, and was always ready with a listening ear when I had something in my life to figure out. Not to mention she was a great friend. To take a clueless freshman in an introductory ag class to a state FFA officer, and all the stages in between took a lot of extra work and hours on her part. I am incredibly grateful for the direction she helped me find and how much she helped enrich my high scho

ol years.

But all the help she gave me is not the reason she is one of my role models. Mrs. Weltmer cares ultimately for the individual interests of each of her students. Whether they are interested in public speaking, welding, or anything in between; she takes it upon herself to encourage them and find opportunities for them to excel. She keeps others’ interests at

heart.

Daily investing in others is a skill I want to learn. Another one is to have a strong foundation, just like Mr. Evangelidis, AKA Mr. E, my high school science teacher. Mr. E is from Greece and has an accent we all love to attempt to imitate. He lets us get away with nothing and sticks to his beliefs, no matter how they are challenged. That is one of the reasons Mr. E is my role model. He doesn’t have to work for respect from his students, pure and simply because he deserves it- just by being himself and sticking to his values. It is apparent to anyone who meets him.

Finally, the latest addition to my list of role models is Dr. Davis, my Landscape Design professor at K-State. I have only been to four of his classes so far this semester, and already I can tell I am going to learn a tremendous amount from him. He challenges us to get to know the students around us and their perspective, instead of just memorizing the material. He opened the first lecture with the idea that we ‘never let our education get in the way of learning.’ To Dr. Davis, learning is a task we must take personal responsibility for; and it doesn’t just happen in class. It happens everyday, with every person you meet, and every opportunity you have.

These leaders in my life do not hold an office. They are simply teachers, just another educator in a sea of others. They could force students to read chapters straight from the textbook to teach, but instead they take the impact they can have seriously and use their strengths to mold our minds and habits as students. Without seeing their actions, it would be difficult to know where to begin being a better person.

You can learn from teachers- and not just Monday through Friday from eight to three-thirty.

You have impact too, whether you want to or not.

Who are you teaching?