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Lily Masters

English 101

November 8, 2013

Ever since the day we are born, we are taught by many teachers. First our parents, then our siblings, and later on other family members start to influence us as well; grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. All of these people teach us many things in our young lives; how to read, open bottles, and ride a bike. They lay the foundations to who we will become and what we will accomplish in life. At the starting of schooling we learn structure; how to walk in lines, fill out worksheets, and behave. I, like every other American child, has traveled through the paths of public education encountering many teachers who have unique ways of portraying knowledge. Over the summer, I was exposed to two different, but effective teaching styles.

            Enrolling in my first college classes during the summer was intimidating. I was taking math ninety-nine and English ninety-nine. I honestly did not know what to expect. I found both teachers to be in their late fifties/ early sixties and they’ve been doing this for years. Both teachers were well rehearsed on the curriculum along with what methods were effective for teaching students. My math teacher, Mary Anne, was all about getting through the chapters of the book. In contrast, my English teacher, Mrs. Richardson, taught more along the lines of the power of thought. These classes were the “express” courses because they were only six weeks long instead of eleven.   You earn credits quickly, but there is an astonishing amount of material to be covered in a mere twenty-three class periods. As one might imagine, this led to a hectic, stress filled summer.

            Promptly at nine am my math course began. Mary Anne started each session with yoga breathing techniques. We would stand behind our chair and focus on our breathing and think only about math. She would instruct us to block everything in our lives out and only focus on math. After our moment of peace, we started with an entry quiz followed by a rigorous two and half hours of math instruction. The class quickly learned that this course was not for slackers. We covered two chapters a day, receiving a couple in class exercise worksheets with each chapter and about sixty online practice questions a night. The only way to receive credit for the in class exercises was by scoring 100% on the questions. Achieving 100% involved turning assignments in multiple times, getting them back with red marks, attempting to re-due the questions,  then turning them in again just to receive it back with maybe one fewer red marks. This process went on until all the questions were correct. The disadvantage of this technique was how time consuming it was, but the advantages were learning the concept and receiving 100% towards the final grade. Without this rigorous system, most students probably wouldn’t have passed the class. Mary Anne made sure we had plenty to do outside of class; a typical evening involved about three hours of intense study of the material, as well as completion of the worksheets and the online assignment. Mary Anne’s style of teaching would be defined as strict; maybe even old fashioned because of the emphasis on lecture and frantically scribbled notes. Despite the exhausting amount of homework and miles of material covered in class, most students were able to comprehend and pass the class.

            In comparison my English teacher Mrs. Richardson assigned a lot less homework, which was nice because I had plenty in math. Richardson was also a veteran in the world of teaching. She had many stories that she magically tied into the lesson. She connected with students this made the students feel comfortable expressing their ideas in front of the class and evolved the class into a safe learning environment. When she would teach a concept she was sure to explain the concepts in a variety of ways so it would make sense to all of her students. Richardson did not use our English text book as a bible, like most teachers do; she used it as a teaching aid to help explain the lesson. As homework we would read short stories in the text book and then have a class discussion the next day. She knew that class discussions were important because they let students express their ideas and take into consideration the way different students looked at the same topic. She also showed us stories on Ted Talks to make sure that we not only saw many different viewpoints on varied topics but also the presentation skills the speaker was using; these videos would then lead into another discussion and analysis of topic. Richardson affected her students greatly because she opened their eyes to the world; my favorite thing she said and what really stuck with me was “believe strongly in what you believe, pick a side and fight for it, don’t be wishy-washy between sides. Even if you switch sides tomorrow don’t stop believing fully in the side you’re on. Like with my views on abortion: I used to be anti-abortion because of my religion, but now I full believe a woman should have her own say”. She helped her students see the bigger picture, by teaching them how to think instead of what to think. One of the things I wasn’t fond of in that class was Reading Plus. This program is proven to help the rate of reading and the vocabulary of students.  Personally I found it to be absurd and not worth my time. The most difficult thing in the class was the essays; she would assign them on Tuesday and they were due Thursday, every week. This was personally hard for me because I work most week nights so I did not have a lot of time to perfect an essay.  Over all she was an encouraging, inspiring, fantastic teacher and I wish she taught all of my English classes.  

These two teachers affected my life because they provided my introduction to college.  I learned not only the material, but how to manage my time and prioritize assignments. A philosophy that both Mary Anne and Richardson believed in was the first step to learning is showing up. Even if you don’t feel well, being there with a positive attitude and dedication to learning will lead to success. At a community college, classes are smaller and the professors often tend to care more about the students on a personal level.  The college also has aid for students who are struggling. Free math and writing labs are available on campus every day; I certainly took advantage of this. We acquire every piece of knowledge by learning, but everyone learns in different ways.  Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” The best teachers know how to make the students think for themselves, not just regurgitate material. In order for effective learning to take place, it is imperative that the teacher and student have at least a simple understanding of one another. People will live up or down to expectations and it is important that teachers get their students to put forth their best efforts by making them active learners; involving them in every possible way and getting them to learn without even realizing it.