Education

WorldStrides Teacher of the Year: History - Erik Brolsma

Our Program Leaders – your teachers – are the heart and soul behind our programs. It’s the teacher students will remember. This year, for Teacher Appreciation Week, we asked students and parents who have participated in recent WorldStrides programs to nominate their program leaders for WorldStrides Teacher of the Year to honor their hard work and dedication. Each day this week, we will announce a WorldStrides Teacher of the Year.

Our WorldStrides Teacher of the Year: History is Erik Brolsma, a history teacher from Loveland, Colorado! Erik was nominated by a student who is impressed by not only his teaching style, but his compassion and love of his job.

“Mr. Brolsma is seriously AMAZING! He undoubtedly knows more about history than anyone I have ever met. He is so smart and he just truly knows what he is teaching. Aside from the big main topics in history, he always has these insane and amazing little facts or stories about the particular topic & I’m always thinking ‘How on earth do you know that? That’s so cool!’ But he does! He is just so smart!

“Also, Mr. B makes learning so so fun! Some teachers don’t have that way about them, but Mr. B absolutely does! Kids are never bored in his class. He tells the funniest personal stories that apply to our lessons and lives and not only are they hilarious and entertaining, but they make the lessons stick and make sense! On a test when I’m stuck on a question, every so often, I can recall a funny story or an analogy Mr. B used and that helps me to remember the question!

“But more than all of this – Mr. B is passionate about what he teaches and about teaching and mostly and especially, kids in general. You can just tell that he loves his job. He is just so much more passionate than the average person and teacher. And that’s what makes him so great and so radiant. He loves kids and he makes us feel loved and valuable. He’s kind and trustworthy. Loving and compassionate. Encouraging and motivational.

“I know that I can speak for myself (and every other student in 7th/8th grade) that we could go on and on about Mr. Brolsma. I could truly write pages about him. He is incredible; but I’ll leave it at this: Mr. B is a gift, a special teacher and more so, a person that just doesn’t come around too often in this world. I don’t know what I did to deserve him, but I am so lucky that I have the absolute divine privilege to be his student. He’s truly amazing.”