Most Influential Teacher Perhaps the most influential teacher I have had in my life was my junior year in a high school english teacher. Unlike many of my teachers that preceded Mr. Tufts, he effectively turned his classroom into a space where students felt comfortable sharing thoughts, ideas, opinions and creations with one another, something that I feel was rare during my time in high school. He introduced and fostered curiosity for ideas and themes in literature that I had never thought about up until that point, and because of our parting words with one another, he is solely responsible for my lifelong love of literature, writing, and my wanting to teach high school english. Upon reflection of my experience with Mr. Tufts I believe he …show more content…
Tufts was using the cognitive method known as elaboration. According to Slavin, “Cognitive psychologists use the term elaboration to refer to the process of thinking about material to be learned in a way that connects the material to information or ideas that are already in the learner’s mind (2015).” Asking relevant questions in the classroom can not only get a student’s attention, but it will also push the student to elaborate on their own experiences in order to answer. Tufts was a fan of hip-hop and would bring in music that featured lyrical content that he felt was relevant to the topic of discussion for day. By doing this he not only shared one of his passions with students, but he was able to elaborated on ideas in a way that felt relevant as well.
The use of elaboration can help students assimilate information more efficiently and present opportunities to make meaningful connections with them, for example, class discussion, or writing exercises. I find as a student writing about or discussing a subject has the potential to greatly improve my confidence in that particular subject. As a teacher I would like to use elaboration to relate important ideas and information to students in hopes to empower them to be
...hat of a father. The high level of sophistication and education in his teachers (factors he considers missing in his parents) makes him respect them much. The scholarship boy wishes his parents were exactly like the teachers (Rodriguez 16). Graff, on the other hand, critiques teachers. In his opinion, many literature teachers have lost touch with the passion for literature and are obsessed with professionalism, their journy to advance their careers and their fascination with analysis and theory (Graff 26).
In my 1109 class our task for eight weeks was to observe a tutor and writer working together during fifty minute sessions. This took place at the Writer’s Studio here on Newark’s OSU campus. The tutor I observed was Wyatt Bowman and the student was Adam Bielby. Ad...
Throughout my high school years the course that made the largest and longest lasting impression on me was Honors British Literature. Not only did the course impact me, but the teacher, Mrs. Cohen, was a tremendous inspiration to me. Throughout the course I was encouraged to express and exercise creativity while also recognizing when to stay professional and use academic language. My confidence in my writing and general abilities improved immensely. Mrs.Cohen would sit with us and casually chat with us when finished with our work and share her experiences and let us voice our concerns while giving advice.
Gerald Graff is a professor of English and Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is highly involved in debates about the current direction of college education. In his essay “Disliking Books,” Graff focuses on using his personal story in order to make a statement about the importance of introducing the arguments over pieces of literature in school. On the other hand, in his essay “Many Voices, Many Rooms,” he uses studies, outside references, and some personal experience in order to express his views about education. In “Other Voices, Other Rooms,” he outlines the need for teachers to connect their topics with other subjects and the outside world so that students not only retain information, but also understand the subject
As a young person four books influenced me most-the meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the dialogues of Plato, Thoreau's Walden, and Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. The first two books made me an idealist, believing in the power of the mind to improve one's life and give it order and meaning. I loved the stylistic power of Walden, the exactness of its description. Often Thoreau writes as if giving tongues to leaves and riverbanks, as if rather than speaking himself, he let them speak. "Simplify! Simplify!" Thoreau said, and following his advice I tried not to encumber myself with too many possessions, or trade leisure and the time to think for things I didn't need. It may be because of Thoreau that I write mostly about people who don't have much in the way of consumer goods, but whose minds and spirits reach out to each...
Mrs. Plot, one of the hardest English teachers in Murray County High School, was my teacher that year. She was a very determined and driven teacher that did not tolerate her students to fail her class, even if they were lazy. I had heard horror stories from her former students, but she was nothing like they said she was. She was the only teacher that I have connected with all throughout school. I looked forward to her class every morning because she always made learning fun. Mrs. Plot gave out good advice about English, but she also gave me personal advice and was more of a friend to me. She always knew what to say to me when I had problems. She motivated me to do better with my writing; we went to a journalism class together every week that year. Mrs. Plot deepened my love for reading and writing. Without her, I would not be the kind of student I am today. On every assignment in her class, I got the most feedback and it helped me out a lot. It took me a long time to become a decent writer, but with her help she sped up the process. I put all of my effort in every single paper I have written, especially for her
I am an African American female who attends the University of Chicago Charter School, which is located on the South side of Chicago. I am seventeen years old and I live and attend school in a predominantly Black neighborhood. I have seen plenty in my seventeen years of living. My goal is to go to college and become a teacher, so that I can return to Chicago and help the people in my community. In six years, I will be giving back to the community and helping the world become better place. I will help teach kids not to live in stereotypes and let them bring them down.
Doing that involves an increasing mastery of skills, knowledge, and ideas." (Robinson, p. 119) The mentioned idea can be used to motivate students to participate in the learning process. The same way young children learn playing with others, the older child can do it experimenting and prove their theories. As a teacher is easy to noticed the difference between a lesson that is pure theory, and the lesson that incorporates creative factors. Students present a better behavior during the lesson, participate, interact, formulate questions and get the answers working together without
As a writer, I struggled my first semester, which took a huge toll on my excitement for both English and writing. Although, I came to realize that with a little help, proofreading, and editing (several times), I was able to generate a well-written essay or at best an average one. Regardless of my poor start, I continued to appreciate my love of English language arts courses. I was blown away by all the juicy classical literature and landmark poems I was able to read and comprehend. I loved all of my classes in college, and I honestly enjoyed the readings! There is so much that can be learned from examining literature and research. Without having read and wrote countless assignments about various topics, novels, poems, and more, I do not believe I would still be motivated to become a high school English teacher and literature professor. My love of reading is a love that I hope will be contagious enough for my future students to capture and spread. In the meanwhile, my continuous love of the Brothers Grimm Tales has inspired a concentration in Children’s literature for my second master’s degree, and I am almost positive that I have conjured a snippet of my future dissertation as well from observations in select
In my life, my favorite teachers were always the ones who taught lessons inside and outside the classroom. They taught us about our past, our language and the world around us for tests and quizzes while also teaching us how to navigate through life with their lessons that weren’t needed for our grades. For me, I wanted to be that kind of person. I knew I wanted to help others when they needed help, and I knew I wanted to do that as a teacher.
Socrates, a famous philosopher, once said, “I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think.” This quote is interesting in the fact that in modern times it is mandatory to go to school for a certain length of time to be taught in order to learn. We have teachers that share their knowledge with their students so that the generations to come can continue to grow and develop. When a student is asked what their teachers do at school they will most likely respond with something along the lines of, “they teach.” This response is both true and false to an extent. While the teachers can provide their students with knowledge, it is important for the students to do their part by using their minds to understand it for themselves. Socrates
The teacher that I observed was Mrs. Cynthia Carney. She is the kindergarten teacher at Greystone Elementary school. As my first time in the classroom, I tried to observe as much as possible. I had a great first impression of the classroom, it is a very positive environment, and the teacher has definitely established a clear routine and rules that the students follow. The teacher did a very brief (5-10 minute) science lesson/introduction to the unit on weather. Although the teacher did not inform my partner and I about the exact objectives for the lesson, it was clear that she wanted the students to learn about making observations about weather. Her objective
As educators we wish to have the students gain knowledge, through our efforts, and continue to expand their minds using the basics we have taught them. In an era when so many outside interests often cloud the minds of our impressionable youth, we often wonder how we can accomplish this task.
My view of Literature is that it is the soul to the imagination. I may be mistaken, but that is the beauty of literary words; there is no truth, no right nor wrong in them, yet they hold just about everything to learn on life. Miss Judy Brown, my form four English teacher, has really inspired me in indispensible ways. She is definitely one in a billion.
One good quality a teacher should have is, respect for the students. Each person’s ideas and opinions should be valued and not judged. They should be able to express themselves without feeling insecure. Another good quality is, having high expectations for your students. Each student should be encouraged to do their best and achieve goals that they may have never met before. Another good quality is, I believe a teacher should have is good communication skills. They should keep not only the students informed on what is going on in the class, they should definitely keep the parents informed as well. Teachers need to know how to communicate with all their students because some are at different levels than others.