Riley Stueven
Essay #3
In the
grander scheme of things, teachers are without a doubt one of the most
important figures you have in your life. In addition to watching over us
through the majority of our adolescence, they are in fact one of the greatest
molders of our lives. They begin to mold and shape us at a fairly young age,
teach us the values of hard work and discipline, and impart endearing tidbits
of wisdom that stick with us the rest of our lives. There are many fine
educators in the world, and while in my opinion they are already underpaid,
they are also greatly underappreciated. A successful educator shouldn’t merely
be a babysitter; they should allow the student to develop interests on their
own, and encourage the student to ask questions. This essay will be focusing on
what I would do personally as an educator, and how I would choose to educate a
group of young students similar to the movie Chalk (Mike Akel, 2006). I would begin with treating the students
more like adults, making the curriculum more hands-on, and incorporating the
schoolwork into the students everyday lives.
To begin with, let’s say the students are
in junior high. They are at that awkward phase of their life where they wish to
be treated like adults, but they can also still be somewhat lacking in maturity
and difficult to deal with. One of the most important things to consider is how
you interact with and treat your students, but also how you portray yourself
while in front of them. Speaking to them in a patronizing manner could easily
make them feel frustrated, so instead I would take a different approach and
speak to them like adults; I would be up front and honest with them about
everything, positive or negative, and in turn this would allow them to respect
me more because I’m trying to actually be on their same level, not on some kind
of pedestal. I would try to incorporate class meetings, and let every person’s
voice be heard. Hopefully, the students would learn to respect me as an adult,
a teacher, and as a friend. The important thing, however, is to not be too
friendly. I wouldn’t want the students to walk all over me and think they could
get away with it, as seen in the movie Chalk.
I wouldn’t pester them about their homework, because I would make it abundantly
clear that it’s their responsibility to turn it in on time. Another thing to
keep in mind would be my confidence level. As demonstrated in the movie Chalk, one of the teachers acted nervous
and incompetent around his students, and as a result, they tore him apart. They
didn’t respect simply because he didn’t give them any reason to, and they soon
came to the realization that they could walk all over him because he wouldn’t
fight back or punish them in any meaningful way.
Another aspect of successful teaching I
would employ would be to make the curriculum a lot more hands-on than anything I
experienced in junior high. And yes, textbooks and standardized tests are
integral to a successful school district, but I would want to go beyond just
the minimum requirements. For example, if I were teaching a unit on marine
biology, I would take the students on a field trip to a large aquarium or
museum, so they could see up close all the things they might be reading about
in their books. It makes much more of an impact on a person if they can see the
subject with their own eyes rather than just reading a boring paragraph about
it in a textbook. Also, I would try to get the students actually interested in
the curriculum. I can’t count the number of times I fell asleep in class,
simply because nothing I was hearing or seeing interested me in the slightest.
A boring subject might not give an accurate representation of a student’s
abilities, because when their interest is piqued, a student will actually put
forth a lot more effort because the subject actually excites them.
In addition to the methods previously
mentioned, another way I would get my students interested in the class would be
to incorporate the work into their everyday lives. Rather than have them simply
read about some person in a book who died hundreds of years before they were
born, I would rather have them utilize things in their everyday lives to help
them with their schoolwork. For example, they could keep track of everything they
eat in a month, and I could show them how using this information teaches them
good organizational skills, how to keep track of calories and nutrients if they
ever wanted to diet, and if they kept track of the costs of all the items, that
in itself could be a lesson on budgeting themselves for food when they
eventually move out on their own. The aspect of all this that I would want them
to realize is not the material that I’m teaching them, but the connection
between everything they’re learning and how it directly affects their lives.
Reading out of a history book shouldn’t just be to learn of past events; it
should show how the world is forever changed by important events and people,
and while the students might not want to think about it, they in fact are the
future, and someday will fill the history books for others to read.
Although this was previously mentioned, I
feel I should reiterate to emphasize the importance of the relationship between
the teacher and the student. While I would want to be looked at by my students
as a teacher and mentor figure, that can’t be the only thing they would see me
as. If I were just considered their teacher, nothing more, then they would
essentially only look to me for advice involving their schoolwork. If I can
reach out to my students and actually make a connection with them, then
eventually they might feel comfortable enough with coming to me for advice in
their everyday lives. After all, I would be spending a large amount of time
with these students, and the more I can help them through their adolescent
years, the better. These years can be some of the most awkward, tension-filled,
and embarrassing moments in a person’s life, as they are just beginning to
figure out who they really are and come into their own. My job, as an educator,
wouldn’t simply be to go through the motions, and help them slide by in their
classes and move onto the next year. I would want to help them develop as young
adults, and use the knowledge and advice gained from me in order to help
improve their lives long after I’ve taught them.
Essentially, the most important factor in
the success of my classroom would be the approach I would take in their
curriculum. If I can’t get them interested in education, I fear they may become
disassociated with their high school careers, and drop out before they have a
chance to flourish. Similar to the movie Chalk,
the students seemed to identify more with fun, happy-go-lucky teacher, who got
on their level and approached them as a fellow human, rather than a
stiff-necked and ‘proper’ approach. And at the end of the day, a good teacher
learns just as much from their students as their students learn through them,
and the key to this exchange is in the approach to communication.
Works
Cited:
Chalk.
Directed by Mike Akel. Performers: Chris Mass, Troy Schremmer, Janelle
Schremmer, and Shannon Haragan. Virgil Films, 2006.
