First semester of junior year, I failed history. It just wasn’t fun memorizing dates, years, and dead people. I’m not blaming my F on the teacher, but as soon as second semester came around, I earned an A. At semester, I switched US History teachers and class suddenly became… fun. This was the first time in all of my school years that I actually enjoyed History class and looked forward to walking in the room every fourth hour.

The reason, magically, looked forward to History class is because of the teacher. Mr. Haase, a sarcastic tall basketball coach, had the whole class hooked from the first speech he gave us. He began our class by telling us who he is, instead of giving a boring talk about the syllabus.
Mr. Haase understands students and he knew we didn’t want to listen to another teacher tell us how we should act or how to get an A. Instead, he left it up to us. Since he was funny, but at the same time talking to us as if we are young adults, it made me respect him.

Mr. Haase is an easy teacher to talk to because he lets students be who they are. If a student wanted to skip class or not do their work, then that was the student’s problem and Mr. Haase wasn’t going to baby them. Everyone went to class and did the work because everyday was an adventure in Mr. Haase’s class. Instead of memorizing dates and people, we learned interesting material in interesting ways. For example, we would decipher old newspapers and cartoons that were related to the topic. He also taught us all of the eras, which I found very fascinating. He would let us ask questions and talk about what we wished, without scolding us for a stupid thought or question.

Just by walking in Mr. Haase’s classroom, a stranger would be able to figure out he is loved by his students. He has framed pictures of him with students, newspaper articles about athletics on the wall, drawings from students, and usually doodles on the whiteboard reading, “I LOVE HISTORY.”
Mr. Haase is one of those teachers who lets you interrupt his free time to just chat. Even to this day, almost a year later, I still visit him between passing periods or when I have study hall. I tell him problems or news about my life. Instead of just ignoring me, he listens and he even noticed when I died my hair. This is because Mr. Haase pays attention to all of his students and cares about each, even if they don’t try their hardest in his class.
I am nominating Mr. Craig Haase as educator of the year because he is an attentive carefree teacher who understands the minds of juniors and seniors and helps each student achieve their goal while keeping class upbeat and stress-free.