Mr. Jim by Reese

Mr. Jim by Reese - January 2025 Scholarship Essay

The current education system doesn’t make it easy to create lasting relationships with our teachers. Each year you get 6-8 teachers, and they can get hundreds of students. With numbers like that, it’s difficult to make personal connections. In 5th grade, I got lucky when I met Mr. Jim.
When I was little, I was completely infatuated with the Percy Jackson series and writing my own stories. Growing up in Costa Rica, not many kids my age shared these niche interests. I never minded that, but I was running out of mythology books and I was in desperate need of more outlets to learn. The day I met Mr. Jim was no different than any other day. Per usual, my mom was running late to pick me up from school. Hoping to pass the time, I pulled out my last unread mythology book. It was a lazy afternoon and campus was quiet so it caught me off guard when someone behind me asked, “How do you like that book so far?”. It was one of the highschool teachers who I knew had a reputation for his time-consuming, difficult classes. At times, I could be a sheepish kid and shy away from conversation, but something about this teacher didn’t make me uncomfortable. Me and him began chatting about my book and discovered a shared interest in mythology. The teacher introduced himself as Mr. Jim, and Mr. Jim made the mistake of telling me that our tiny school in Costa Rica had a Greek mythology and literature class. 10 year old me was floored, this was exactly what I had been looking for. Only one problem, it was a course only available for highschoolers. Before I could question him further, my mom arrived to pick up.
That night, I was determined to be in that class. I marched into my room and searched for a pen and pencil, then I proceeded to write an essay on why I should be allowed to take those classes. For someone who could be a cowardly kid, I had alot of moxy and determination that night. The following day, schools gets out like usual, but I set foot for the principles office. How she kept a straight face - I will never know. My principle was face to face with a 10 year old demanding to take two highschool classes. After reading my essay, she called upon her assistant to go find Mr. Jim. He walks in and is presented with what I wrote, focused only for a moment before laughing. Mr. Jim was fond of my paper, and decided that I could pick up his two highschool classes.
Mr. Jim changed my life because he showed me that I needed to be more assertive of my interests. I lucked out, I learned that lesson very early in my life. Some people never do. Most teachers are only meant to teach syllabuses and units. Mr. Jim gave me a sense of confidence, and a voice. That will never compare to any exit ticket, skills check, or note packet.