Memorable Teachers
Everyone can think of a teacher that they had in middle school that still looms huge in your memory. Who is yours? I can think of several. Many of them are still vivid in my mind because they were so bad: Maribí, "la Champiñon," or "el Locuras" (Spaniards have a penchant for nicknames). Others are remembered fondly, like Miss Ohler or Miss Stenoien. But in some ways, the idiosyncratic teachers are the ones that stand in the forefront of my brain. Those are the ones that I look back on and laugh about, sometimes with a smile and other times with a shake of the head. You guys know what kind of teachers I mean: the kind with catchphrases, quirks, outdated views and mannerisms, oblivious of reality, and often a love for their subject matter.As I think about my own teachers and my memories of school, I can't help but look across my teacher's desk and wonder what kinds of memories my students are making right now.
Sometimes it's pretty obvious which teachers are going to be remembered in years to come by my students. My kids are quite candid about their feelings towards teachers, which surprises me since I would expect to be viewed as being "part of the enemy," but they tell me anyway. I can already tell that many of their memories will be fueled by hatred and misery. Students complain that certain teachers are "mean," that they yell at them, or that they don't respect them. Now as a first year teacher, I am in an interesting situation because I'm still young enough to remember my own terrible instructors and sympathize, but at the same time I am a teacher, and I can sympathize with my maligned colleagues too, because some of their students make you want to strangle them sometimes. But students don't just talk about the teachers they hate, they also talk about the weird ones that just baffle them.
Let's take, for example, a certain teacher that we shall call "Ms Miller." Students are constantly baffled by this woman. For one thing, she is the kind of talker that can go off topic and spend the whole class talking about some personal opinion or anecdote. I look in a see a whole class leaning heavily against their desks, bored but still looking at this teacher incredulously, "what the heck is she talking about?"One time, I walked by her class and heard her playing music and singing to the class (hint: she isn't a music teacher). One time I walked past the class several times in one afternoon to hear not one, not two, but three separate songs and styles represented. The kids looked like they were being forced to watch a video about skin rashes in health class. I just found out that Ms Miller has catchphrases too. She hits a buzzer every time someone throws something in the trash: BUZZZ -"Easy come, easy go!" and I constantly hear student comments like: "That lady is absolutely insane!" The surprising thing is that I agree with them.
That is what I never would have guessed back when I was a student: most teachers also have similar opinions of their colleagues. Ms Miller doesn't just cause her students to shake their heads in wonder, her colleagues feel the same way. There are "wait until you hear what *insert teacher's name* did today" conversations as often between the adults as there are among their pupils. And you know? Some teachers are mean to students. Bitterness and cynicism are (sadly) the telltale signs of many veteran educators... hard not to after years of trying to teach kids who hold you, your subject, and your profession in contempt. But I digress, the point is that we know that teachers are mean, we know they are crazy, and we know the ones that are nice. We are just a few steps away from giving them nicknames.
How will my students remember me? Will they remember me at all? I don't think I am mean or crazy enough to really make an indelible mark on their memories. And though I know some of my students say that I am one of their nicer teachers, I don't know if I am "cool" or "funny" enough to really remain in their brains forever. And unfortunately, I am not good enough to be held in eternal esteem as a "great teacher," but hopefully that will come with time. For now I will be happy if, in years to come, someone mentions my name and they say "Oh yeah... Mr Jacob..." and they smile.
Sometimes it's pretty obvious which teachers are going to be remembered in years to come by my students. My kids are quite candid about their feelings towards teachers, which surprises me since I would expect to be viewed as being "part of the enemy," but they tell me anyway. I can already tell that many of their memories will be fueled by hatred and misery. Students complain that certain teachers are "mean," that they yell at them, or that they don't respect them. Now as a first year teacher, I am in an interesting situation because I'm still young enough to remember my own terrible instructors and sympathize, but at the same time I am a teacher, and I can sympathize with my maligned colleagues too, because some of their students make you want to strangle them sometimes. But students don't just talk about the teachers they hate, they also talk about the weird ones that just baffle them.
Let's take, for example, a certain teacher that we shall call "Ms Miller." Students are constantly baffled by this woman. For one thing, she is the kind of talker that can go off topic and spend the whole class talking about some personal opinion or anecdote. I look in a see a whole class leaning heavily against their desks, bored but still looking at this teacher incredulously, "what the heck is she talking about?"One time, I walked by her class and heard her playing music and singing to the class (hint: she isn't a music teacher). One time I walked past the class several times in one afternoon to hear not one, not two, but three separate songs and styles represented. The kids looked like they were being forced to watch a video about skin rashes in health class. I just found out that Ms Miller has catchphrases too. She hits a buzzer every time someone throws something in the trash: BUZZZ -"Easy come, easy go!" and I constantly hear student comments like: "That lady is absolutely insane!" The surprising thing is that I agree with them.
That is what I never would have guessed back when I was a student: most teachers also have similar opinions of their colleagues. Ms Miller doesn't just cause her students to shake their heads in wonder, her colleagues feel the same way. There are "wait until you hear what *insert teacher's name* did today" conversations as often between the adults as there are among their pupils. And you know? Some teachers are mean to students. Bitterness and cynicism are (sadly) the telltale signs of many veteran educators... hard not to after years of trying to teach kids who hold you, your subject, and your profession in contempt. But I digress, the point is that we know that teachers are mean, we know they are crazy, and we know the ones that are nice. We are just a few steps away from giving them nicknames.
How will my students remember me? Will they remember me at all? I don't think I am mean or crazy enough to really make an indelible mark on their memories. And though I know some of my students say that I am one of their nicer teachers, I don't know if I am "cool" or "funny" enough to really remain in their brains forever. And unfortunately, I am not good enough to be held in eternal esteem as a "great teacher," but hopefully that will come with time. For now I will be happy if, in years to come, someone mentions my name and they say "Oh yeah... Mr Jacob..." and they smile.
Comments
Me encanta mi vocación...sobre todo en estas ocasiones ;)
Seguro que cuando piensen en Mr. Jacob sonreirán.