I Am My Best Teacher

As every individual is unique, getting to understand the students’ characteristics, knowledge and cultural background are essential requirements for encouraging their development and learning (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2012). In order to achieve the above requirements, a strong and positive relationship with students is the effective way for teachers to build up a holistic picture of a student (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu, 2015a; Nixon & Gould, 2005). The various recorded interactions and observations between teachers and students made during the professional experience, have helped me to understand how students learn and have strengthened my ability to plan and implement lessons (Arthur et al., 2012).

In my experiences as an educator I have learned that the way teachers are taught and raised, effects the way they teach. But we must make choices not based on our past, but learn how to embrace our student’s unique perspective and set of experiences. There are several ways to make this connection:

The best teacher I’ve ever had was my Honors English teacher, who was the strictest and harshest grader I’ve ever come across. With her as my teacher, I spent the majority of my sophomore year stressed out. What I didn’t realize, however, was that the only reason I was struggling, was because I refused to acknowledge that what she was doing was teaching. The teachers I had previously, never challenged me in the way that she did and, because of that, I could do the bare minimum and still pass. After I finished her class, I realized that she didn’t just set me up to pass her class, but set me up to excel in the future. She changed the way I looked at education, and made me acknowledge that having trouble in a class didn’t mean that I was incapable;

One fall, I sat in a crowded auditorium about to begin another year teaching when the words of the school head, Tom Hudnut, rang deep. His charge to the faculty was simple. “Be great teachers!” Be like the loon 's voice on a summer night. Be that great teacher whose memory and instruction reach into the heart and soul of those you teach. Born and raised in the private school world, I learned from many great teachers. However, none figure so prominently as my middle school teachers: Jim Gardner, Arnold Klingenberg, Jim

I have always developed a strong rapport with not only my own students but with students outside of my classes, with several students asking if they can transfer into my classes. I try to have an understanding of what students are interested in and adapt that knowledge for the benefit of my students’ learning. I value their questions and respond to them to the best of my ability either immediately or as soon as I had an appropriate answer. I believe in challenging and extending my

In recalling my favorite teacher, I have questioned many times what it is that I remember about this person the most. In my case, it was that this teacher showed a genuine interest, in my work, in my interests and in my being. As Danielson (2007:28), illustrates, it is only when students remember their teacher’s years later, that ‘students find themselves recalling the warmth and care their favorite teachers demonstrated, their high expectations for achievement, and their commitment to students’. Arguably, the exclusive teacher-student relationship is constructed on the central human need of knowing another person cares, which lay at the heart of student’s development and learning. (QUOTE). While I did not recognize the significance of building relationships with students until, almost two years into my role as a voluntary teaching assistant. I now consider the most essential role that educational practitioners can ensure, is to develop relationships with their students. My understanding is confirmed by Noddings (2005:17) who states ‘caring is a way of being in relation’. Suggesting that perhaps it is not what you teach these students, but rather, whether or not you let them know you care.

While getting ready to observe my first class at Upper Moreland High School I was excited to see a new classroom climate through objective eyes that I may not have used before. I would be observing a teacher with fifteen years of teaching experience and is looked at as a prominent member of the music department. Although we have worked together for four years I have never been able to see him teach and was excited about this opportunity. When I approached this teacher he was hesitant, much like the teacher from Reflexive Teaching: Toward Critical Autoethnographic Practices of/in/on Pedagogy , and expressed that he had been teaching the “same way” without any new “fancy techniques” for many years(Warren,139) Before the initial observation I interviewed the teacher. While interviewing him I not only asked about his teaching experiences but about other life ventures and was given some very surprising answers, such as the fact that he was a business owner for ten years previous to teaching. I was curious to see if his business side, as well as, other aspects of his life would show through in his teaching. After three days of observations and shadowing, I have learned a great deal about how life experiences, personal demeanor, among a mountain of other things molds one 's teaching and classroom climate.

As a student in the Education Department at Saint Mary’s College, I have been assigned a set of eight standards to fulfill before graduation. Having these standards guides all students in becoming the necessary well-rounded teacher candidates needed to go into the field of education and ultimately becoming a successful teacher in the future. Each standard relates to a different area, including having a broad and comprehensive understanding of learning processes, the professional environment, and content. Throughout the last two years, I have had a number of opportunities, both in the field and in my classes at Saint Mary’s, to meet these eight standards.

I’m always caring and empathetic. I’m caring in that I always try to teach my students with kindness in mind. I’m also kind in the way Geneva Gay describes kindness. I’m kind in that I “care so much” (Rychly and Graves, Pg 45, 2012) that I want my students to succeed. I hold my students to a high expectation (Rychy and Graves, 2012). I don’t believe in good learners or bad learners. I know all my students can learn and succeed. So,I expect all my students to meet the learning objectives and milestones. I don’t except excuses for failure. However, I am empathetic in that I can put myself in my student’s shoes and understand what they are going through (Rychly and Graves, 2012). I understand that my students may expect hardships. I try to work with those hardships and challenges. I know that each student has unique experiences that affect their learning. Thus, I empower my

Within the classroom it is important to set a rapport with the students by acting professionally and regulating our emotions in a way that will facilitate a positive classroom atmosphere. By setting classroom limits firmly, with respect and consistency, it allows us to accept the inevitable ambiguity and uncertainty that arises from allowing students to figure out the problem on their own. Through empathy and sensitivity towards the students, it will serve to strengthen teacher-student relationships, as well as the classroom climate and management (Pianta, La Paro, Payne, Cox, & Bradley, 2002 as cited in Jennings & Greenberg, 2009).

The steps I took to foster teacher-to-student interactions was I checked in on students during white board time and when they were working on the assignment individually. This kept students engaged on learning but also if they needed helped I was there to help them. It made a positive impact because the students could come to me if they needed help or if they were not confident on how to do something, I was right there to help. The steps I took to foster student-to-student interactions was I had them turn and talk to a partner during white boards. This allowed students to ask for help or discuss what answer they got. This also made a positive impact because it helped the students discuss the different strategies they used but also if they were

Karl Menninger once said, “What the teacher is, is more important than what they teach.” Reflecting on Menninger’s statement, professional educators are not empowered by the curriculum, which dictates the classroom material, but the influence of their relationship with their students. My own experience supports this, as I recall my favorite teacher, Ms. Linda Ashby, an AP statistics teacher. She embodies the model teacher by being full of energy, invested in both her school and her students, along with being knowledgeable but yet relatable on a student level. As I develop my teaching skills, I reflect on my time as her student, seeking to emulate her positive traits she exhibited everyday.

Parker Palmer (2007) states "good teaching cannot be reduced to technique: good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (p. 10). I identify myself as a caring, patient person who strives to promote each learner’s potential. My approach to teaching is based upon my ability to establish and maintain a nurturing, supportive relationship with learners; I promote active learning through dialogue and questioning and foster creativity and critical thinking. I expect that my students, as they are increasing their knowledge, participate in active learning while seeking my guidance and support. This process forms a continuous cycle involving both the teacher and the learner (Bastable, 2008); this is how I connect with my students.

Choosing a favorite teacher is fairly difficult when one puts into account all the types of teachers they have known, all of them are important. Teachers are the second most important people in our lives, right after our parents. Teachers are persuasive and have the power to build a child up from an immature student to become a responsible adult; or they can completely and utterly crush a students hopes and dreams.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having