The Bullet Point
Megan Schaefer: Living History
I had the privilege of sitting down today with the most remarkable teacher of high school history — Megan Schaefer. She is making an enormous impact, today, in the lives of the people who will shape our world in the not-too-distant future, and I think that’s a pretty big deal. Through her passion for all things history, she is helping our young people see the relevance of the events past to the lives we live today and, perhaps even more importantly, how we are laying the groundwork, today, for what will become our future tomorrow. Understanding the role history plays in our lives is something that Megan has devoted much of her life preparing to teach. And judging from our conversation today, I believe she teaches it about as well as anyone I’ve ever met.
Teachers really do move the needle on who we become, not only as individuals, but through the leverage students carry out into the world. A science teacher might see this as the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy, and a language arts teacher might see greatness before anyone else in the words a future novelist places on a term paper or a class essay. But a history teacher sees the leverage in history understood and acted upon through life choices that have the capacity to resonate well into the future and even well beyond our own lives. To me, that makes history a pretty big deal. Something to be well understood and so it’s a good thing there are people like Megan Schaefer within our school community willing to so effectively share those lessons. Clearly, she teaches with the passion of someone who cares, but also as someone who has worked hard to prepare herself. I have a hard belief in the notion that we are all better when we work together. The education of our children is a partnership involving parents, teachers, and in fact the entire community. As Megan said in our conversation, it means so much to the success of our kids that we all work together. I know, not just from our conversation today, but from many others I’ve had with teachers, how much Megan and her colleagues value engaged parents.
I had the privilege of sitting down today with the most remarkable teacher of high school history — Megan Schaefer. She is making an enormous impact, today, in the lives of the people who will shape our world in the not-too-distant future, and I think that’s a pretty big deal. Through her passion for all things history, she is helping our young people see the relevance of the events past to the lives we live today and, perhaps even more importantly, how we are laying the groundwork, today, for what will become our future tomorrow. Understanding the role history plays in our lives is something that Megan has devoted much of her life preparing to teach. And judging from our conversation today, I believe she teaches it about as well as anyone I’ve ever met.
Teachers really do move the needle on who we become, not only as individuals, but through the leverage students carry out into the world. A science teacher might see this as the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy, and a language arts teacher might see greatness before anyone else in the words a future novelist places on a term paper or a class essay. But a history teacher sees the leverage in history understood and acted upon through life choices that have the capacity to resonate well into the future and even well beyond our own lives. To me, that makes history a pretty big deal. Something to be well understood and so it’s a good thing there are people like Megan Schaefer within our school community willing to so effectively share those lessons. Clearly, she teaches with the passion of someone who cares, but also as someone who has worked hard to prepare herself. I have a hard belief in the notion that we are all better when we work together. The education of our children is a partnership involving parents, teachers, and in fact the entire community. As Megan said in our conversation, it means so much to the success of our kids that we all work together. I know, not just from our conversation today, but from many others I’ve had with teachers, how much Megan and her colleagues value engaged parents.