Stine Writing and Miniatures

WordPress Question of the Day

What makes a teacher great?

Well, I think I was a great teacher, not the best by far but great in a way. One of the things I learned was that kids come with their own baggage. Every day needs to be a new day, unless it doesn’t. Kids want to learn but will shut down if they feel like they are only going to fail, unless of course, they are of the higher intelligence where everything needs to be a challenge. Behaviors stem from frustration….frustration about life, school, friends, self….Kids don’t know how to handle all of the feelings thrown at them and although there is no room to coddle, there is plenty of room for empathy and a good ear.

One of the things I always stuck to was that every student can learn something!
Whether it is something simple for a challenged learner or something more complex for a confident learner, everyone has something to learn. When I made mistakes I never covered them up with excuses, I admitted that I didn’t know everything.

So, was I great? Well, two of my most challenging students are doing very well now, about seven years later. These two were noted as “under-achievers, class-clowns, putting in no effort…” I never went for that and I am proud to say that both students graduated high school when they thought they never would.

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