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Kaila Evans

West High Welcomes new History teacher Mr. Harp


Branson Harp Instructs freshman on This day in History.
Branson Harp Instructs freshman on This day in History.

Mr. Branson Harp decided to apply for the open position after teaching virtually for the past two years. Harp hopes to bring passion and love for what he does as well. Furthermore, he explained, “I think West High has a wonderful staff that is full of passionate educators, so I am by no means trying to bring something new in that regard. Regardless of whether my roles and responsibilities change, I hope that what I teach in the classroom sticks in some way once they leave my class.”


Harp has been teaching since Jan 2019. He taught an interim semester in high school, teaching both World and US history. For the past two years Harp has been teaching seventh grade World history virtually. Believe it or not, Harp did not start out wanting to teach history. In fact, he started college with the intention of pursuing a career in finance. He quickly decided it wasn’t for him and switched his major to history, and one could say the rest is history.


Harp grew up in Bean Station, Tennessee, and now lives in Rutledge. He attended Carson-Newman University, graduating with both a master’s and bachelor’s degree. Harp graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in teaching (MAT) in 2018. Currently, he has a seven year old daughter, Sophia and a three year old Great Pyrenees/Lab mix named Dolly. A bulk of Harp’s family lives in Granger county, close to his current residence.


Harp applied for the history position at West High because of the high expectations for educators set by Mr. Kinsler, principal. Knowing of the high expectations, Harp decided he wanted the extra push to become the best he can be in the classroom. His favorite thing about West High is the group of people he gets to work with, whether it is the individuals he works with on a daily basis or who he gets to collaborate with in a broad sense.


Even though Harp is not from Hamblen County or has never been to school here, the new environment is starting to feel like home because of the people here at West High.





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