school – Life with Charli

Daily writing prompt

What makes a teacher great?

picture taken from Unsplash

“What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.” – Karl Menninger

What makes a teacher great is compassion and the ability to connect with one’s students.

I have talked several times about amazing teachers on my blog. I have also talked several times about being a person with a disability. My disability made going through school difficult. Despite my struggles through school, I have a college degree, and I managed to graduate college with honors. I wouldn’t have been successful without the help of wonderful and compassionate educators. One such educator was one of my college professors, who I will call Prof. A.

Since I was a student with a disability, I received accommodations. One accommodation I received was extra time on exams. Also, I took my exams in a separate location from my classmates to lower distractions, usually in a room at the office for students with disabilities. During one exam for Prof. A, I was unable to finish the test, even with the extra time. Prof. A took the time to check on me while I was taking the exam. When she found out I wasn’t finished with the test when time was up, she told me not to worry. She took me to her office and had me continue the test there. Before she took me to her office to finish the exam though, she took me to the cafeteria to eat, knowing that I had been working on the test for hours.

In that moment, Prof. A showed me what it really means to be an educator. She showed me that teaching includes more than the ability to pass on information in a digestible way. Teaching also comes with a heart ready to love and understand. This is a what makes a great teacher.

picture taken from Pixabay

This week has been Teacher Appreciation Week here in the United States! I have discussed my status as a person with a disability and mental illness several times here on my blog. Many educators I have met have been so understanding of my disability and mental illness. I have written two post about wonderful teachers I have had, and you can read them here and here. This is another post celebrating an excellent teacher.

Years ago when I was in kindergarten, I had two great teachers. However, I spent a significant amount time with one of them. It wasn’t until I was older when I got a chance to talk with her about her experience as an educator that I found out she wasn’t a teacher yet during the time she was teaching me. She was a paraprofessional, and was in the process of becoming a teacher. For those who don’t know what a paraprofessional is, a paraprofessional is a person who “supports teachers and students in many ways. For instance, a paraprofessional can tutor students or assist the teacher with managing the classroom and organizing instructional materials”. Paraprofessionals also help with “providing students with one-on-one guidance and handling behavioral or medical issues”.

It was interesting to find out that one of my kindergarten teachers was not exactly a teacher yet. However, then again, I should not have been so surprised. I was a student with special needs who needed extra attention, and giving students the extra attention they need is part of a paraprofessional’s job. My kindergarten teacher did not just give me extra attention though. She was extremely kind, loving, and patient. Even at my very young age of five, I knew she cared deeply for me, and so I cared deeply for her in return. She eventually did become a full fledged teacher, running her own classes and then eventually a department head.

I admire and appreciate her for the time she took to not only nurture my learning, but also my well-being. I definitely felt special with her, but I’m sure I was not her only student who felt this way. It is clear she is a passionate educator. Miss. H, Thankyou for everything, and happy teacher’s appreciation week.

Tag: school

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