Good educators can motivate and
inspire students, many times helping them unravel new skills and sometimes even
change their perspective of the world. I am happy to say that my experience
with educators, both in elementary school, high school, and beyond has been
extremely positive. The only time I found my a teacher to be simply average was
in elementary school, where I was in and out of public schools a lot because my
parents moved to a new naval base every few years. This all changed when I got
to junior high, and later high school. Here I would come across some of the
most inspiring people I have ever met, and this trend would continue even
beyond grade school. The two teachers I chose from my past that were some of
many examples of great educators would be my junior high biology teacher Mrs.
Janie, and my sophomore Algebra teacher Mrs. Steel. These two women used kindness
and patience to inspire their students along with their love of learning, and
in the process revealed the infinite possibilities of education to me and my
classmates.
Mrs. Janie, a small woman known for
her bright red hair, taught me biology during my first year at a new school in
central Washington. She started the first class by telling us that she knew
many of us are afraid of doing something wrong in her class, to say the wrong
thing or fail at a science project. She assured us that this was going to
happen, that sooner or later we would make a mistake, and that it was perfectly
fine. Mistakes are natural, you’ll miss
directions or you might forget to add something to your project, but that’s
okay, she had said. Even though this might seem like she was setting us up
for failure, I found it very comforting. I, notoriously being the one to fumble
my assignments, felt that she was communicating something very comforting to
her class. When my first science project came around and I was unsure how to complete
my diorama of a habitat, Mrs. Janie paired me up with a girl a little older
than me that had made similar projects before, and together we got a good grade
on the assignment. This girl would later become my best friend, and we would
from then on do all our projects together. One day, when we had all been
struggling to understand the parts of a cell, Mrs. Janie said that she would
dress up in a funny costume and come to school if we all studied hard and got
A’s on the exams. Sure enough, after test day she came dressed like a banana,
and we all had a laugh. Throughout the biology course, Mrs. Janie revealed to
me that science is not something to be afraid of, but an interesting field that
simply needed to be approached with patience and an open mind.
My Algebra teacher, Mrs. Steel or
‘Peachy’ as she was nicknamed, was a very important teacher in my life because
she taught me that math was, believe it or not, very fun. Until I took her
class math was a constant struggle for me, and I squirmed whenever I had to
solve even the simplest equations. But ‘Peachy’ changed everything for me. She
was an incredibly strict teacher. She didn’t like her students to become rowdy
and always gave her lesson in a solemn tone. Even though I was at first
disconcerted by her teaching style, I late found it the best way to learn math.
Her thorough and step by step examples helped to polish my math skills and give
me confidence. Everything wasn’t perfect from the beginning, though. During my
second test I blanked out and wasn’t able to remember anything I had learned! I
have test anxiety and can usually control it, but at that time all my calm
alluded me, and I wasn’t able to finish the test in time. I was so disappointed
in myself and felt that I had failed my favorite teacher, but when she
collected the tests she hugged me and told me that everything would be fine,
and I would try again when the next test came around. To say the least, I never
studied so hard in my life! Thinking of it now takes me back to the movie Stand
and Deliver, where the teacher’s high expectations of his students inspired
them to raise to the challenge of passing his class. Mrs. Steel’s expectations
of me surly inspired me as well. When the next test came around I was anxious,
but I kept calm and completed it. Mrs. Steel told me the next day that I had
aced the test and she was very proud of me, and I felt like I had finally
conquered my fears of Algebra! Mrs. Steel was not only a great teacher, but she
helped me develop my math skills, which would forever assist me in my future
math and science courses.
Mrs. Steel and Mrs. Janie were both
very similar, and different, teachers. In comparison, the ways they treated
their students were identical. They were patient with their students, giving
them time and resources to do well, and they were always motivating us through
their own examples. In contrast, Mrs. Steel was stricter and had a solemn
personality and liked her classroom to be orderly. This was positive because it
involved an orderly subject: math. Mrs. Steel didn’t make a lot of jokes, but
was always kind. Mrs. Janie; however, enjoyed a casual classroom setting and
liked to add humor to her lessons, and especially didn’t mind her students
expressing themselves. Unfortunately, after taking their classes I moved away
and didn’t see either of them again, but I hope to one day go back and visit,
and tell them how important they were in my life. I don’t know if they realized
this, or how many teachers in general do, but a good educator can change your
perspective on your life. After taking Mrs. Janie’s Biology coarse I would
forever by amazed and interested in animals and plants, and even contemplate
studying it more later on. Because of that class I volunteered at a vet clinic
that summer, and got to spend a lot of time looking a skin samples of pets,
which I found very interesting and was able to apply what I had previously
learned. Even though I still prefer other subjects to math, Mrs. Steel erased
all the fear of numbers I had inside of me, and gave me confidence in myself
and my abilities. No matter how much you dislike it, math is a very important
skill that either be a life-long pain or pleasure. Though I cannot say I quite
find pleasure in working math problems, Mrs. Steel showed me that it didn’t
need to be a pain, and that if I mastered basic algebraic math I would be
unstoppable. I can relate myself to the character of Todd in Dead Poets
Society, because he was weighed down by fears and found release in a positive
educational environment. Even though my only fears was my inability to master a
subject, I found that these two great educators helped me be less stressed, and
made a great difference in my life.
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