Bridging the Gaps: Gabriel Baker

Imagine a household over 2,000 years ago. In it resides a Roman aristocratic family, where heroism runs in the bloodline. Plastered to the side of the smooth, pillared house are plunders and swords of generations of soldiers and heroes. When one enters the house, they see a dresser, on which wax masks rest, immortalizing the faces of dead ancestors.

In this lesson, history teacher Gabriel Baker wants his students to understand Roman life and its push for military achievement. He takes the narrative he’s constructed and adds another layer, one he hopes his students can sympathize with.

He says, now, imagine growing up as a child in that house. Can you feel the pressure that rests on their soldiers?

When Dr. Baker paints this picture in history class, he sees something click in his students.

That is the moment he is looking for. 

When he sees a student bridge the gaps of space, time, culture, overcoming the differences between themselves and someone whose lives they cannot experience, that is what makes teaching the most special for him. 

“Ultimately, for me, history is about exercising extraordinary empathy, because how else do you connect with people [in the past] who have nothing in common with your life?” Dr. Baker said. “It’s an exercise that you need in order to try to understand why people do what they do, why people believe what they believe, why people act the way they act, in these contexts.”

Inside and outside of history, Dr. Baker sparks that empathy. That’s the kind of teacher he is. In his classroom, he’s a teacher who bridges the gap between the unimaginable and the present. In the Lab community, he’s one whose students are appreciative of his unwavering commitment. He’s the kind of teacher who creates that special environment.