I have always loved history. The stories, the patterns, the way it translates into the present has always fascinated me. Until this year, I never really had a teacher who brought it to life the way I’d hoped. That changed when I ended up in Mr. Griffin’s class.

Mr. Griffin is, without exaggeration, the best history teacher I’ve ever had. He is incredibly down to earth, and clearly loves what he teaches and respects those he is teaching it to. You can see it in every lesson. He’s the kind of teacher who reminds you why education matters.

He never really just goes through the motions or follows some script. He takes time to really unpack events and ideas, and shows us the meaning in smaller details. You can tell he’s thought deeply about the material, and even more deeply about how to share it in a way that sticks. It’s not about memorizing facts, it’s about understanding people, power, change and how it all connects.

What stands out the most, though, is how real he is. He doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, and he's not afraid to push us to think for ourselves. His class feels like a conversation, rather than some kind of performance. As someone who always cared about history, finally having a teacher who gets it and helps others get it, too, means a lot.

His approach, looking at the human side of history, made all the difference. He inspired me to think more critically, ask better questions and to see all the patterns I didn’t notice before. More often than not, I found myself leaving class thinking about a discussion we had in class, or even going home and researching more, just because something he said stuck with me.

So, thank you, Mr. Griffin, for being the kind of teacher any history lover would hope for, for making the class something I genuinely look forward to and for proving that great teaching isn’t about flashy presentations or perfect lectures, it’s about connection, clarity and care. You made history feel alive, and I truly appreciate that.