Mr. Knapp

Before teaching at Aurora, Mr. Knapp taught at Canton for two years, Kent for one year, and Strongsville for two years. He has stated that he has always wanted to be a teacher and his goal is to make an impact on student's lives. Knapp claims, “I wanted to become a teacher because of all of the good teachers I had growing up, namely my 7th grade social studies teacher, Mr. Shaw (he was really tough in class, but also taught me a lot)! I wanted to have the same impact on other people that they had on me.” Mr. Knapp has found that through his years of going through school himself, social studies is his absolute favorite, and is a passion he wanted to share with others. He also states,  “My favorite subject in school was always social studies. I was blessed with a lot of good teachers in that subject. Social studies can also explain why the world is the way it is today, which I find very interesting.” 

Mr. Knapp has always worked hard and valued his education. He is still in the process of his final classes that will take him further in his career. Knapp states, “I graduated high school from Kent Roosevelt in 2012, then Kent State University in 2016. I am almost done with my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I have one class left in that.” Even though Mr. Knapp has a busy and action-filled life, balancing teaching, baseball, and fitness, he still makes time for the people he loves. When asked who has had the biggest impact on him he claims, “My wife. She is my better half (and way smarter than me) and an awesome person who always pushes me to be the best version of myself.” Mr. Knapp has so many people in his life that are important to him and have made a huge impact on his life. Along with his wife, Knapp also adds, “I also think my parents had a pretty big impact on me. They taught me to work hard and treat others with kindness.”

Mr. Knapp teaches two subjects right now and they are world history for freshmen and government for juniors. While teaching, he covers a wide variety of topics and concepts. When asked what his favorite unit to teach is, he says, “Any day I get to wake up and teach is a great day, but if I had to pick specific topics: In my government class, my favorite thing to teach about is the Bill of Rights I think your rights are very important for people to understand as they go out into the real world. In World History, I like to teach about the rise of dictators the most. There are a lot of lessons there that we need to learn in order to keep our democracy safe.”

During his years teaching history and coaching baseball at AHS, Mr. Knapp has collected many memories that he will never forget. Knapp says, “My favorite memory of teaching at AHS is every day! Every day is different and every day brings something new. Another memory (not sure if it's my favorite but it’s up there) I had was when a student made me a Mother's Day gift out of paper and dandelions he picked during study hall.... kind of weird but it was pretty funny.”

Even though Mr. Knapp’s life is consumed with a lot of teaching, he also finds ways to do things he loves. Mr. Knapp knows the importance of a healthy lifestyle and staying active. He states, “My favorite thing to do outside of school right now is Crossfit. My wife, parents, and my brother all go to the same gym and we have met a lot of great friends there along the way. It's a great environment and something I look forward to after school almost every day.”

Mr. Knapp is set apart from other faculty members because his students feel like they can form a relationship with him that will continue through all four years of high school. When asked about his most favorable teaching qualities, Knapp claims, “I hope students would say relationship building and making my classroom a place that is at least somewhat enjoyable. I don't teach because I love social studies, I teach because I get to work with some amazing people every day.”