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Dan Ring - Short Essay A
I am the right person to teach U.S. History because...
I love it. It's in my blood. i have had a love of history since grade five. At age fourteen I knew that I wanted to teach history. All through school
I was known as the history WIZ. In high school I took every history class that was offered: United States, English, European, Ancient, Oriental and Latin American. I still hold in fond memory my history teachers Herbert Gladding, James Gram, Curtis Eiker and William Braman. Braman was a Golden Apple Teacher of the Year winner.
When I was ten I discovered stamp collecting. Through this hobby, that I pursue even today, I learned geography, languages, important world personages, and above all history.
But stamps were not the only things I collected. I acquired artifacts, documents and photos. I also was on the lookout for the people who made history. I made the best of every opportunity to meet people who shaped my world.
In the realm of politics, I met Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Konrad Adenhauer, Queen Elizabeth. Personages in the arts I've met include Andres Segovia, Natalie Wood, Frank Sinatra, and Ann Landers.
These are among the many I have had the opportunity to encounter. I sought to witness events such as the Royal Opening of the English Parliament, a Republican and Democratic Convention, and Vietnam War protests. I have sought to go to the places where history was made: Gettysburg, the Mission at Santa Barbara, Versailles and the Roman Forum.
The teaching of history is not just the whos and whens, it is also the
hows and whys and what ifs of the story. It's the probing into the
minds of the participants and an understanding of the interaction
and flow of events. My interest, experience and the desire to instill
and pass on a vivid sense of the past and how it affects the present
is what makes me the right person to teach U.S. History.
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