Tell us
about a teacher who had a real impact on your life, either for the better or
the worse. How is your life different today because of him or her?
There are two of my teachers who come to
mind when I consider those who had an impact on my life for the better. These are
my third grade teacher and a UMUC visiting college professor I took several
classes from when finishing up my BA in English during my first years on
Kwajalein. Both of these teachers have
something in common: they allowed their students to express themselves and
recognized that each student is an individual and made sure we all had what we
needed to succeed. For my third grade
teacher, this meant taking us out for extra recess time when we had too much
pent up energy and encouraging my friend William to show off his Michael
Jackson space-walking skills for the class.
I remember feeling very comfortable in my own skin that year, able to
just be myself, which was not the norm for me in my younger days.
As far as my college professor, she was my
creative writing, speech, literature and everything else communication and
English teacher and as such, she gave us positive and constructive feedback on
everything from journals to poetry and formal writing assignments and again,
just made us, as a class, feel very comfortable with her and each other. I’ve decided this is key, as a teacher
myself, to allow students to see you as you are (be real) and make sure you
take the time to see them for who they are as individuals and teach to both the
individuals and the class as a whole. If you can do that, you’ll have a group
of students who really want to perform for you and will learn simply because
they are invested and engaged.
I couldn’t complete this entry on favorite
teachers and their impact on my life without also noting some of the more
current teachers in my life, my children’s teachers. My sons were very lucky to
have some of the best teachers I have ever known during their time in the
Kwajalein School System. I am amazed by
their dedication, professionalism, nurturing, and the positive environments
they created for my boys formative years in elementary school. I always felt welcomed into the classroom by
each of them and the strong parent-teacher and teacher-student relationships
they fostered gave me great comfort, knowing that they truly cared about my
children’s academic, social, emotional, and overall well-being, so hats off to
the George Seitz Elementary School staff!! My boys and I love and miss being a
part of your wonderful school community.
These teachers impacted my life by sharing
their love of writing and teaching with me, giving me the opportunity to fall
in love with writing and the education profession, and finally by revealing the
path to become an excellent teacher. Observing and working with my own and my
sons’ teachers was the best on the job training I’ve ever received. I’m so thankful for their wonderful examples
as well as all the tips and tricks of the trade I “borrowed” from them for my
past and current jobs in the educational and childcare fields.
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