Sometimes I think that everything I learned in grade school I un-learned in high school and college. For example, Christopher Columbus wasn’t really a hero to Native Americans, FDR was in a wheelchair, and Lincoln’s motives for freeing the slaves were possibly more military than social. I have learned that perhaps American ideas aren’t quite the best, and in some parts of the world people live completely different, yet fulfilled lives
Up until my junior year in high school, all of the ideas that I learned were based on a parochial view of American life. There was no study of other cultures, in fact, I would venture to guess that I didn’t even know what culture was until I took sociology and government with Tom Baker.
Mr. Baker had new ideas that I had never even heard before. There were people who lived different than we did in Nebraska. People who thought that capitalism was wrong, and that religion should control government. Other cultures flourished on matriarchal ideals and different opinions about education and lifestyle.
It was in Mr. Baker’s class that I first learned about the mutilation of women in African countries, how the French view capital punishment, and the reality of homeless children. Not only was this an eye-opening experience for a mid-western girl, Mr. Baker’s class inspired me to try a different kind of thinking. I learned tolerance from Mr. Baker. I learned that it is okay for people to have different ideas, because each person has a unique background that shapes his or her beliefs.
It was in sociology and government during my junior year with Mr. Baker where I considered the effects of guns on our society. I learned what it meant to support change from the status quo, and how an effective democratic government takes care of all of its citizens, regardless of background. Mr. Baker explained welfare to us, and taught us that we need to be informed about the political issues of today in order to be effective voters.
We were in an all-girls parochial school and for the first time in three years there was a teacher talking to us about birth control, date rape drugs, and self-defense. Of course, there was the religion class that talked about the “sin” of pre-marital sex, but never the real-life situations that young women find themselves in. Mr. Baker gave us horrifying statistics on domestic violence, especially in high school relationships. He taught us to recognize signs of domestic violence, and where we could get help for ourselves or other women. Looking back, I am kind of upset that there was not emphasis on the importance of women’s issues before junior year.
It was Mr. Baker that inspired me to become a lawyer. I will never forget the day that he went through the legal system on the dry-erase board, the arrows and circles becoming something of a giant, judicial mess. Lawyers have the responsibility to understand this system, he told us, and represent those who do not. And I thought that sounded like something I wanted to do. Women who cannot help themselves are so disenfranchised in all parts of the world, and if I could help someone who was feeling helpless, it would give my life a better purpose.
My junior year with Mr. Baker was truly life-changing. Sometimes it’s not the method of teaching, but the guts of a teacher to talk about real-life issues, no matter how controversial and how disturbing that makes a difference. I am certain that Mr. Baker inspired many of his students, but I do not think that any of them are as grateful as I am.
-- Colleen Lenaghan, American University