LIU 2nd Place
Jeremy Grivensky, Coughlin High School
Above and Beyond: The Limit Does Not Exist
Teaching is a unique line of work. There are very few professionalswho are afforded thesame opportunity to influence the youth of societyasthose who serve in the educational field. Every teacher is given this opportunity to make a profound impact upon their students; however, some go above and beyond the confines of their job and work to make an extraordinary impression in the lives of their students. In my life as a student, I have had several teachers who exceeded expectations in such a fashion. Nevertheless, the teacher whose work has influenced me in the most positive way is my former Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry instructor and my current Calculus teacher, Mr. Gillis. This man’s efforts inside and outside the classroom are extraordinary on many levels and have certainly changed my attitude about mathematics. It is with confidence and sincerity that I say I would not bethe student I am today without his influence.
When I saw his name on my schedule junior year, I froze. Thoughts racing, I consulted my friends to confirm my fears. Sure enough, it was true. Mr. Gillis, the famously eccentric Advanced Placement Calculus teacher, would be teaching my 5th period Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry class.My friends that had graduated the year before had seemingly endless stories of their struggles in Mr. Gillis’ demanding courses, and they were good at math! Math had always been my weakest subject! What was I going to do? Thankfully, I had enough sense not to drop the class immediately, because the following year with Mr. Gillis would ultimately shape me as a student. On the very first day of school, he taught a full-length lesson and assigned homework. From then on, the work seemed to be ceaseless: nightly homework assignments, just-about weekly quizzes, and tests after every major concept. For the first few months of the class, I felt helpless. This feeling was mitigated, however, by the fact that I knew I could come back to Mr. Gillis after school and practice as much as I’d like. Eventually, these “eighth period” study sessions began to gradually improve my math skills. As the year drew on, my grade increased steadily. Even more importantly: I finally understood math. I attribute this development not only to Mr. Gillis’ teaching ability, but also to the strong work ethic and enthusiasm that he projected each and every day. His love for teaching is apparent, and he deserves to be honored as the greatest teacher I have ever had the opportunity to learn from.
As the profession with the most control in the development of students’ futures, teachers should be honored and respected. The educators who go beyond the basic requirements of their job in order to influence lives are heroes, and should be treated as such. Mr. Gillis has shown me how much of an impact one man could have on a student’s life. He has shown me that, both in mathematics and in reality, the limit to an educator’s influence does not exist.