A Great Teacher - Original Writing
I was 20 yearls old when I was assigned to interview someone whom I
admire. By those days I wanted to get a degree as an English teacher,
so I thought it was a great idea to interview one of my high school
teachers. I decided to interview the most taugh and admirable teacher
I have ever had: Mr. Stucchi.
Surrounded by a circle of students, Mr. Stucchi answered questions,
gave instructions, and explained assignments. I slowly approached the
circle and stood close to him. Three years ago, I was a high school
student. Now I am a college student. I peered over the chattering
students and slipped into the circle. Old high school memories came to
my mind. A few moments passed before Mr. Stucchi turned to me with a
smile. “Angie!” he said, “It’s good to see you. I’ll be with you in
just a minute.” Turning to a student on his left, he asked her if she
understood the assignment. “Of course, Mr. Stucchi. Your class is
easy.” Easy? Mr. Stucchi’s class? Was she talking about the same Mr.
Stucchi I had known just three years ago? I wondered. Maybe I had not
heard her correctly.
What I remember about Mr. Stucchi's eleventh-grade honors English
class was the challenge. Good grades were not earned easily in a class
of students concerned about one thing: getting into a good university.
That meant earning nothing less than an A or B. And Mr. Stucchi made
us work for it. Class periods were spent analyzing difficult
literature, reviewing and practicing English grammar, and developing
our writing skills. Furthermore, Mr. Stucchi’s encouragement and
concern for his students was evident. I may have wondered if ...
... middle of paper ...
...rs often become overwhelmed with the demands of
teaching five or six classes, taking professional growth courses, and
maintaining a personal and private life outside of teaching. He
promised me that with his methods, I could learn to balance my
professional and personal lives. The offer sounded good, but I did not
want Mr. Stucchi to be my Master Teacher.
As our conversation came to a close, I realized that it was not Mr.
Stucchi the person who had changed, but Mr. Stucchi the teacher. I
left my old high school
feeling melancholy and a bit sad; a person whom I had admired,
respected, and esteemed for many years had come down from his pedestal
in one short afternoon. The observation and interview taught me an
important lesson: The need to keep one’s teaching fresh and new and to
somehow avoid teacher burn-out.
Unlike the younger hunter, Phenix was old enough to control his high metabolism, to pace the rate at which his body burned through fuel, but after the change, he too needed to eat.
The American system of education is considered to be one of the most progressive in the world. One of the surveys on attitudes toward teaching around the world found that the United States is unique in its strong emphasis on "good teaching." My experience at State College has helped me to understand better how this system works, and what methods and techniques American teachers use to motivate their students for creative and active learning. However, I can also see that this system doesn’t work perfectly in every classroom. Reading Ernest Boyer’s article “Creativity in the Classroom” helped me with my understanding of the main problem that nowadays exists with the American college education system. According to the author, the problem is that teachers and students don’t see each other as one team doing the same business; therefore, in most classrooms the process of learning becomes a boring procedure instead of being mind-blowing. Moreover, reading this article, I could analyze the reasons of this problem that the author identifies through my own experiences at State College.
In Stephen King’s essay, “On Writing” he stresses the importance of reading as an invaluable tool to improve one’s writing. However, why does being a good writer matter to someone who is not a writer? In the New York Times article, “What Good Writing Indicates, and Doesn’t,” Brock Haussamen writes that “good writing—writing that is clear and interesting and free of most surface errors—is a reliable indicator of certain job-rated abilities.” Enhanced writing skills, developed by extensive reading, showcase job-related abilities, improve written and verbal communication skills and can lead to advancement in the workplace.
Whittaker in his novel, What Great Teachers Do Differently pose teachers with different concepts within the education field, touching on some “not-talked” about concepts, and sheds light on ones own performance, and effectiveness as a classroom teacher. On page 95, Whitaker states, “If we seek input from our most capable students and colleagues, we are much more likely to make the right choices”. Now looking at that from just a first line perspective one may question how this would effect the individual student voices and faculty. If one is to look deeper and really think about what he is saying, then one can realize how this is justified by the mere fact that it is the nature of both students and teachers to make decisions on what is best
As I try to fight my amateur urge to be simplistic, it is impossible for me to avoid my main concern about composition pedagogy. The issue that most pervades and perplexes me is the intricate, tender yet all encompassing role and influence of The Teacher. Simply stated, I find the influence of the teacher to be the problem, and sometimes the solution in the realm of teaching writing. I read through our student essays and found the constant notion that what has influenced, and sometimes determined the fate of a student writer is-yes, The 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
Along with finding my passion for theater, I also found one of my favorite teachers during my time in Junior High. His name was Mr. Rodrigue, and he was my homeroom and science teacher for both seventh and eighth grade. He was one of the first teachers that was every real with me. He was a very open and honest teacher who treated his students like adults. Mr. Rodrigue had this wit and sense of humor that made him more personable than any of my other teachers. I loved how he gave everyone in our homeroom nicknames, for instance, mine was “Higgy-Baby”. To this day I do not know how he came up with a name like that, but I know that while I was in his classroom, I was never called just Alyssa. While I learned many new and interesting things in his science class, I remember more of the life lessons that he taught during homeroom. He was one of the teachers that was there for me when life got rough, he looked out for me during and outside of class. For me, knowing that I had him keeping an eye out for me made me feel
Owen and put his hand over his mouth Owen tried to shout his Mum but
he was very angry and he did not want to let the person get away with
When a teacher favors a student the student is called the “teacher’s pet,” but what do you call a teacher who is favored by a student? Would they be called a student’s pet? Whether you’re the teacher’s pet or not everyone knows students has their own list of favorite teachers from when they were younger. The reasons why or how a teacher might end up on that list can go on forever. It might be because it was an easy class and the teacher let them do whatever they wanted or because the teacher actually sat down with them and took the time to get to know them and encourage them to improve themselves as much as possible. The possibilities are endless. I have a handful of teachers that are my all time favorite teachers. A few of them just happen to be my ag teachers in high school Brent Haken, Brad Chapman, and Scott Schaefer. My other
A journey begins with a step, a voice, a vision or a loved one. My
What is a teacher’s job? It sounds like a simple question, but the answer is far more complicated. There is not a clear defined purpose of a teacher because everyone has their own idea of what that purpose might be. Are they put on this earth to simply pour information into the thirsty minds of students to help them succeed in life, or to empower them and motivate them to strive for anything and everything that they desire? Is the journey of education just a storybook waiting for the teacher to save each student from the treacherous world that they live in, and help them overcome every disastrous obstacle that they encounter? There are multiple sides to this single debate. Some believe that outside sources, such as films, trick people into thinking that the teacher must be a hero, but others believe that we
What is a teacher? A teacher is someone who students rely on for further knowledge and comprehension. Often, a teacher is viewed as a role model towards their students. In many times, teachers can help guide students into a better future. Characteristics like preparation, compassion, having and showing respect to students can make a teacher more effective.
Every teacher has their strong points as well as weak points. Teaching is very hard work and some of them never grow to be anything better than mediocre. They do the bare minimum and very little over and above the call of duty. There are several ways to become a great teacher. Teachers are truly dedicated workers who put a lot of time and schooling into being able to teach for the rest of their lives.
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.