David Lee

History Teacher

John Dickinson High School, Wilmington, DE.

I have always been shy around people who I don’t know, and moving to a new school in 10th grade didn’t feel like a good idea. But who cares about what the teenager thinks, right? On the first day of school I received my schedule. As I scanned the paper I saw what I thought would be the end of me. CP World History. Places, dates and names. At the moment my only thoughts were “Great! Another year of boring lectures about history.” But little did I know that I would finally enjoy going to history class.

My first days of history class I felt tense. Mr. Lee looked very intimidating and seemed like one of the strictest teachers I have ever met. This  was mainly because he rarely smiled , which is usually what most of the teachers do on the first day of school. After time passed, I started to let loose a little. I took notes and listened to his lectures. One thing I started to noticed was the way he gave us the information. He didn’t just tell us the facts so we could learn them. Instead, he made jokes about the material being learned and sometimes it even seemed as though he was telling some sort of story. As the school year progressed I realized that I was always looking forward to going to World History to see what was new.

History was still the hardest subject for me, but my grades were good. Some time during the school year Mr. Lee thought that it would be a good idea to move me up into Honors World History. I wasn’t completely sure that such thing was a good idea, but he believed in me and that was all that mattered. I soon joined his Honors History class, and though I was somewhat behind, I caught up. Part of my motivation was that he never stopped believing in me. I knew he had high expectations for me and that helped me move forward. It was very rare for me to get an A on his tests, but I never stopped  trying. His way of teaching also helped me learn new things. He would often add some of his experiences in order for us to understand what he was trying to say. Some people thought that he was “extra” because sometimes when he would teach he’d walk around the room and yell parts of the lectures. This was not a sign of being irritated because this happened mostly when things in history were getting heated.

I no longer have his class, but I do have some good laughs and memories of the times I spent in his room. His attitude, personality, and his way of thinking taught me so many things. His students may call him “strict,” but I see him as the teacher who cares about his students education. To me he is a role model. He is one of the few people that I look up to and have an enormous amount of respect for. He has earned the respect of many of the teachers, and he is just one of a kind. He really doesn’t know how much I appreciate the effort he puts into his job and how much I appreciate him and his wisdom.

If I had the opportunity I would definitely go back to being in his class. Though history is still not my favorite subject, Mr. Lee is my favorite teacher . Without realizing it, he pushed me into achieving what I wanted, a good grade in History. I had a few slips, but his motivation, his passion for teaching and his way of seeing things helped me to keep going. He is one of the people who I’m hoping to make proud the day I graduate. I am so glad I had the pleasure to meet such a great teacher, and not only that, but also such a great person. He made an impact in my life and I am so thankful for that.