The study of history was subject that interests me, but when it comes to the history of my own country, I felt lost and confused. I put off taking U.S. History at my school for as long as I possible could. Against my will, I enrolled in U.S. History, knowing it would be the worst part of my day.
The first thing that came  from my teacher, Mr. Haase’s, mouth was a story--and this was a story that all of Mr. Haase’s students would remember forever. He told us all of George Washington’s personal features, which were followed by the same trait in Mr. Haase. He describe George Washington in a way that I won’t forget. His story ended with a loud and bellowing “And that is why I am George Washington.” All I could think was, Hey, maybe this class won’t be as bad as I thought.
U.S. History became my absolute favorite part of the day. History is no longer boring. From laughing at cartoons from the time period to action packed videos to listening to songs and watching Mr. Haase sing, his class is constantly laughing and learning at the same time. He is like an encyclopedia; a never ending flow of brilliant information. His knowledge definitely became useful during tricky crossword puzzles, confusing lessons, and tough homework assignments. 
It seemed like every week Mr. Haase would tell us an outrageous story about his life, and surprisingly, he was able to relate every story to the subject we were learning. My favorite story was when Mr. Haase worked in a candy factory and got his fingers sliced up in one of their machines. The business he worked for still used the batch of candy with Mr. Haase’s fingers in it… disgusting. He told us the candy heart story to give us an example of poor working conditions in factories, and it all ended up relating to meat factories during the Progression. Trust me, the meat factories made Mr. Haase’s story seem like ripe fruit compared to the travesties in their kitchens.
Mr. Haase makes learning fun and easy. When testing time rolls around, I know I have nothing to fear because Mr. Haase taught all the information on the test. That is something I can’t say about my other classes. I have a lot of testing anxiety, but through Mr. Haase’s countless videos, crossword puzzles, and stories, remembering information became simple. How can someone not feel ready for a test when Mr. Haase plays a Firestorm remix? I look forward to the music on every test, it gets my mind flowing and makes me feel like I can dominate the test.
Arrowhead has hundreds students at school and it is easy to feel lost and forgotten, but I know that Mr. Haase knows me and is excited that I am in class. Throughout the school year, I mentioned the musicals that I was in or exciting T.V. shows I was watching, and the next day Mr. Haase asked me about them. It showed that he doesn’t only care about my learning, but that he also cares about my life outside of school. I leave his class everyday with a smile as I hear Mr. Haase say, “Bye, Emma E.”
I’m glad I had the chance to be taught by Mr. Haase. I can now tell you all about the Battle at Little Bighorn, the causes of the Great Depression, and traveling along the Oregon Trail, because I wasn’t bored in class. I was engaged and excited to learn, something I wasn’t able to say at the beginning of the year.
I am nominating Mr. Haase for this award because not only is he like George Washington, but he is an outstanding educator. He is a true leader who seeks success in every student in and out of class. I’m leaving his class full of knowledge and no longer need that encyclopedia to fall back. Thank you, Mr. Haase, for being my teacher.