If you had asked me to tell you what I remembered most about school or about my favorite teacher growing up, I probably wouldn’t say much about the subject matter. However, for me, there was that one teacher, my English teacher, that I’d forever waffle on about, about how she made me feel as I learned that subject matter – the sense of excitement or discovery I felt, or the safety to take chances and make mistakes.
What students take away from a successful education usually centers on a personal connection with a teacher who instilled passion and inspiration for their subject. Although I had never enjoyed or ever been motivated throughout school, this teacher blossomed my inner abilities and passion for English I never knew I had. Often throughout school, I’d struggle as I always felt ‘not good enough’ because there were much brighter students than me and so they often had the ‘spotlight’ whereas I felt detached from the classroom as no one ever pushed me to achieve and exceed my abilities, and due to this I often felt demotivated. My teachers usually praised the achievers, and rather than helping those that are in need of their help and flourish with their inabilities, they would often look down on the failures and put you down by saying, “If you don’t pull up your socks, you possibly won’t have a place here next year”. I often took things on a personal level whenever teachers would say things like that to me, and whenever they did, I’d often say to myself, “Oh, they’re giving up on me, so I might as well give up on myself”. This mentality not only led to my education being at risk, but it led me to be mentally insecure about the answers I’d provide during class. However, on the other hand, my English teacher always approached me to confirm I understood what I was learning and ensured I was up to date with my work. This constant ‘check-up’ made me feel like I had a chance as I wasn’t being disregarded, as if I had a chance at doing better, and that it wasn’t too late.
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My English teacher always understood where I came from and always gave me the time of day, she was that teacher who actively listened and interpreted the meaning behind what I was saying. My father was going through depression majority of my schooling years, which had an impact on me in the sense that I would always be thinking of a solution in order to cheer him up or make him proud, however, I felt like I was never capable of doing well and automatically disregarded doing well at school, which meant I never put my complete all in my work, I rarely concentrated in class and often spaced out with the teacher’s instructions being almost like ‘background noise’. My English teacher often approached me to ensure I was okay and how I was coping; this affirmed my dignity and helped me develop a trusting relationship between her and me. Due to this, I was comfortable enough to inform her of my circumstances. She always went out of her way and continuously organized a time to talk to me and keep track of my progress. If the chaos of the classroom didn’t allow her to give this kind of focused listening, she’d irrefutably set a time to talk when there were fewer distractions. Over time, I began to feel more ‘myself’, I felt rather more cheerful and talkative. I felt like I had someone to talk to, someone who believed I could achieve the ‘unachievable’ and certainly someone who could understand and relate to me.
As complications within the world progress, the education system has focused on support, counseling, and social work services as a remedy for poor students' performance without the degree of success that has been desired. This raises the question, 'How might teachers change student behavior and improve student performance?' The basis of caring has provided some answers to this question. According to the researchers Bulach (1998), Deiro (1996), and Noddings (1992), when students perceive their teachers as genuinely caring, the resulting relationship significantly influences their grades, class work, homework, attitude, motivation, and behavior. When teachers clearly and obviously care about their students, students' attitudes, motivation, and behavior change in a positive direction because they want to please those who care about them. Students work harder, increase their learning, and strive for success in school. This was evident throughout my English classes. I often kept up to date with my work, did tasks on time, and gradually began to enjoy the subject. However, my initial motive to maintain my grades and achieve the greatest I could was due to the friendly and caring relationship my teacher had with me, and for this reason, I never wanted to disappoint her and often wanted to prove her right that I could ‘achieve the unachievable’. This is further proven in the quote stated by John P. Miller (2010): “Perhaps the most powerful force in education is the loving presence of the teacher”. Thus, a caring teacher can transform the school experience, especially for students who face enormous difficulties such as dropping out or having dysfunctional home lives.
I was always that student that had a short attention span, I guess you could say I was the most talkative and disruptive student in class, I figured I was only like this as I often got bored and felt like I needed to move around and be physically doing something in order for me to learn. The majority of the time I could learn by writing without the need to physically have it modeled, however, I hated routine, and I needed change. My teacher often took feedback from every student in order to better the classroom culture and create a live sense of atmosphere. She got us to give feedback in a couple of sentences, about what confuses or concerns them most about any topic – it didn’t have to be academic. Mine was for her to do something more hands-on rather than always pen to paper; some other feedback from others was for the teacher to assist in writing a thesis as a class. She often put our feedback into consideration, which was why we often felt like they weren’t pointless; it showed us that she valued our opinions and experiences. Consequently to the feedback I provided, rather than her dictating the question and setting out the structure verbally, she’d often get me to write out the question on the board and assist me with any troubles I had in putting an answer together and rather opt for a more hands-on approach as requested, which didn’t only help me academically, it also helped the majority of my classmates as they were able to provide their input and ideas into the answers we did together, and working as a class made us all feel safe to ask questions and take chances, which helped us grow academically.
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