We students have a hard time when it comes to learning. I think that all of us have always referred to a book, a friend, or the internet for unanswered questions. You may or may not agree with me when I say that the reason of this is because our teachers won’t answer the questions we ask. Why is this though? The reason is because they are not willing to help us. They probably find our question stupid and decide to keep going with the lesson. I myself remember when I asked my chemistry teacher about polymers. She briefly looked at me, then turned around, and walked away, and left me there with my doubts. We students then have to research for our answers simply because the teachers won’t answer them because they consider them stupid.
Another factor that most of the time teachers don’t take into account is respect. But I’m not talking about a serious kind of respect. Both teacher and student can joke about each other without the need of being disrespectful. By respect, what I really mean is, that the teacher is in no way trying to make the student feel uncomfortable or treating them like “kids”, but is in fact treating them like mature young adults who are willing to learn. This also encourages us teenagers. I guess that all of you readers agree with me when I say that we’ve all wanted to punch a teacher that has been disrespectful to us, haven’t we? Only joking, I think!
A teacher must be enthusiastic about what he’s teaching. He doesn’t “classify” his/her students into different groups, be it for racial reasons, gender reasons or personality. This means he has to be fair and treat them all equally. And by enthusiastic I mean that he is happy with what he’s doing, with what he’s teaching. He WANTS to teach his students. He wants to pass down his knowledge to the future generations. We students want this. A teacher keen on his subject, teaching us everything we want to know. This, however, cannot be accomplished unless, he is fair. We want fair teachers. We want to be treated equally, don’t we?
Temper has always been part of all teachers. No teacher should break their voice by shouting at one if his pupils, but instead calmly tell them what to do. They should control themselves and try to think about their actions towards the pupil before doing it. The way they act towards their students is really important, so the student does not lose motivation. We students need to feel the kindness of our teachers. This doesn’t mean that they must not tell the students if they’ve done something wrong. They must help us students to advance and reach the best of ourselves.
Teachers are the ones that prepare us for our awaiting future. But we students must also co-operate with them. We have to be looking forward to learn what they are trying to teach us. Humour, respect, temper, control, fairness are all attributes BOTH students and teachers should have. So when you see your teacher next time, be sure to be kind to them, and if any teacher reads this, be sure to have those attributes.
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teaches inspires.” This quote, in my opinion, shows what all teachers should aim for. For them to be labeled as “great teachers” by their students. What would we be without our teachers?
