SE prof falls into teaching
by Matt Rinker, reporter

    If not for a summer workshop, SE government students might have missed out on an instructor who keeps them interested and motivated.

    Although Monita Sharpe has taught government for eight years, it has not always been her niche.

    “I was kind of tricked into becoming a political science major,” she said.

    While attending St. Mary’s University in Leavenworth, Kan., Sharpe attended a summer institute sponsored by the American Political Science Association (APSA) during her sophomore year. The goal of the APSA was to convince aspiring lawyers, which she was at the time, to become political science majors. In her case, the association succeeded.

    The program made her realize being a lawyer could only impact one person at a time and her goal was to “impact the masses.”

    After graduating St. Mary’s, Sharpe completed her master’s degree at West Virginia University in Morgantown and fulfilled her dream of becoming a teacher.

    After college, she returned to her native Fort Worth, where she lives with her husband and four children.

    Sharpe began her teaching career at Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth, followed by Morningside Middle School and later Kirkpatrick Elementary, also in Fort Worth.

    After taking a two-year absence from teaching to be a stay-at-home mom, she started her college career on the South Campus teaching U. S. Government.

    She now teaches Texas Local Government as well as U.S. Government and shares an equal passion for both.

    “I like the issues in U.S. Government better, but it is easier to fit Texas Local Government into one semester,” she said. “I wish U.S. Government was a two-semester course.”

    Sharpe said she prefers teaching college students because they have more responsibility and her classes are always required.

    She does miss teaching high school students because she likes to encourage younger students to achieve a college education.

    Sharpe uses many hands-on projects to keep students involved and aware of the government issues surrounding them every day. Students in her classes write letters to congressmen, make commercials to inspire people to vote, recreate various government actions in legislature and discuss weekly current events to stay informed.

    Sharpe has attended precinct meetings and political conventions to help provide material for classes. She also gets her children involved by taking them to the polls to experience government in progress.

    Sharpe also offers students advice for the future.
    “Always be consistent and persistent because you never know what may happen,” she said.