Mr. Bentley's Surprise Arrival: Shaking Up Our School - Essay Sample

Introduction

When Mr. Bentley joined my school, the whole school was shaken up. It had been long since we had seen a change in the personnel at the school. We immediately learned that he had been assigned to my class in sixth grade and was going to take over from our beloved Mr. Johnson. We all waited with bated breath for his next move. We had grown accustomed to our former teacher, Mr. Johnson, who had recently been transferred to a different school. Most of us had become apprehensive and uncomfortable in facing the change. We kept on wondering what life would be like under the new teacher. The thought of having another teacher made my flesh crawl. However, my first experience with Mr. Bentley in class remains one of my best teacher-student interactions. Most of my classmates concur with me that he immediately exceeded our expectations. From the first time he set his foot in class, we could see his enthusiasm, excitement, and, most of all, love. On a personal level, Mr. Bentley remains to be one of the most influential people I have ever encountered in my life. He was able to leave a lasting impact on my life beyond education.

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He was everything we wanted in a teacher. He was jocular but strict. Within the first few minutes of our interaction, we had all fallen in love with him, and he became everyone's favorite teacher. It was not just for his approach to teaching, but also for his vast knowledge and his ability to explain concepts exhaustively. He was talented. He transformed our lessons by adopting a holistic approach. For instance, he would bring along his guitar to class and challenge us to sing songs that we had written. He regularly asked us to perform plays both during lessons as well as on special occasions for the whole school. He was also very hands-on in his teaching approach. He relished taking on challenges and never disappointed with his ever creative and out-of-the-box ideas to keep us hooked to the lesson. He was instrumental in building our confidence, self-esteem, and encouraging us to realize our potential. The rest of the school envied us for having such an excellent teacher.

Nevertheless, it was not for his fatherly attitude or his teaching approach that he ultimately influenced my life and shaped my worldview, but rather in the fact that we almost lost him at some point. This was at a time when the nation was drawn into space exploration, and NASA was preparing to launch the Challenger. Being the risk-taker that he was, Mr. Bentley had applied to be part of the crew as the first school teacher to go into space. He had been through a series of interviews, and he had been shortlisted among the final pool of candidates for selection. When we learned of this, we were caught up in mixed emotions. On the one hand, we wanted him to be part of this historic event. He had worked so hard through all the various interview phases, and we could only wish him the best. Furthermore, the success of the event would also bring our school and maybe our class, to limelight, because we felt we owned him.

On the other hand, we feared for the worst should anything happen to him in space, and we lost him. The thought of having to face a different teacher broke our hearts. Nevertheless, we were all amazed at the fact that someone from our school stood the chance of being part of history in our country and indeed, the whole world. We continued praying for him throughout the process, and when the D-day for selection came, he was not selected. We were all swallowed by the cloud of disappointment.

We gathered ourselves and looked up to the fact that we still had our teacher with us anyway. Furthermore, the disappointment did not kill our excitement about the Challenger mission. All of us followed the events closely as they unfolded. On the day of the launch of the Challenger, Mr. Bentley invited us to his house to witness the historic event as it was transmitted live on television. We were anxiously glued to the television, watching the final details of preparation, listening to the commentaries, and learning a thing or two from Mr. Bentley as he broke down the details of the event for us. The excitement and joy soon turned into sorrow as the mission ended up tragically. The Challenger exploded midway through the journey, killing everyone on board. We were extremely devastated by the turn of events. The memories of this day still linger fresh in my mind.

The very idea that it could have been our believed teacher, Mr. Bentley, who would have perished in the tragedy, changed our lives forever. The accident completely changed my worldview and my approach to life. I learned to appreciate everyone for every moment that I have with them because you never know what the future holds. From this experience, I learned that things can change up drastically at any moment. For my classmates and I, Mr. Bentley, had become a father figure. Most of us came from the projects where we were raised by single parents. Mr. Bentley filled in that void and became a father, a friend, a teacher, and a role model for all of us.