History teacher Jessica Rasler’s journey in education

PHOTO: 

By Ava Giovannettone

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Davis High history teacher Jessica Rasler loves her job, but didn’t always know this was the career she wanted to pursue. “I actually hated history in high school, which is probably not what people expect,” she said.

Rasler teaches US History and World History, but she originally wanted to be an English teacher. That was until her senior year of high school, when her history teacher changed her mind.

“He taught the class so well, and made it fun and interesting, so that’s when I started to love history,” Rasler said. 

Teaching isn’t the only thing Rasler enjoys. Coinciding with her first aspiration of being an English teacher, Rasler says she loves to write in her free time. She also enjoys writing stories and poetry.

Rasler is currently working on a science fiction novel, and says a dream of hers is to have one of her books published one day. 

“My goal for next year is to at least get a book of poetry out,” Rasler said.

Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova is where she spent her high school years, and while academically she thrived, she wasn’t a fan of the social aspect of school.

“I was one of the only out gay kids at my school, and back then I guess people weren’t very understanding,” Rasler said. She said she’s glad that times have changed, and people are much more open and kind about everything.

Despite her negative experiences with peers her own age, Rasler said she had a lot of teachers who supported her. It was one of the reasons she wanted to become a teacher, since she wanted to be able to support students the way her teachers did for her.

Unlike her high school experience, Rasler loved college. She attended Sacramento City College, before transferring to Sacramento State. 

“I liked college a lot because you get to meet all kinds of people, and it was very community-oriented,” Rasler said. 

Rasler thoroughly enjoys her job, and plans to be a teacher for the rest of her life. She loves the students, and loves making connections with people at school. 

“I enjoy being with students, that’s why I became a teacher,” Rasler said. 

Rasler said one of the most important things about being a teacher is to make her class a place where students want to be. 

“I want to make my classroom a positive environment, school is stressful enough. I want students to be able to relax here, but also be able to learn,” Rasler said.