Well,, If
I ask you to name your favorite teachers from kindergarten through senior high
school or even the recent study you take now and then to count it, it will be
easy to answer, won’t it? However you will think about people who not only
taught you things of value, but inspired you as well. Since it will bring back
so many fond memories of wonderful people who've touched both your personal
life and your professional life, I think it can also be an enjoyable question
to answerJ
When I was in senior high school, I
remember being motivated and interested in mathematics lesson since before I
hated mathematics very much through most of my study in junior high school.
Miss Puji, my first mathematics teacher in senior high school had successfully
changed my mind to go back to like mathematics. In my first year, even though I
felt far behind and unable to cope all of the materials delivered by Miss Puji
in the classroom, Miss Puji never underestimate and denounce me as other
teachers. She always supported me and taught me by her best way. She was
looking forward to me and although she was often assertive and gave me a
portion of a task that is a lot more than others, but I knew that she cared of
me and wanted me to catch up my backwardness over my friends and be successful
in my class. Compared with my previous mathematics teachers, of course I am
more like Miss Puji because she was very kind, humble, care of her students and
had enthusiasm for teaching.
As reflect to my experience, I
realize that teacher’ characteristics have an impact beyond the classroom. If
good teachers can improve their students’ financial prospects and give positive
influence on all aspects of their students’ lives, while on the flipside, bad
teachers can set students back years in their development. I know that being a
good teacher is not simply as you may think. But, as teachers, you have to
decide which type of teachers you want to be before you enter to the classroom.
Is it bad teachers, so-so teachers, or good teachers you want to be? Of course,
if you have a great passion to become a teacher and you think that teaching
will be kind of fun activity that gives you opportunity to change lives then you
will choose to become good or even great one for them.
On the while back, my lecturer said
that in order to become good teachers, besides of having a deep content
knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge that reflect on the current
knowledge of learner-centered, teachers need to have some characteristics such
as personal qualities that can increase motivation to learn, meet needs for
belonging and relatedness and increase perceptions of competence. Yes, I
totally agree with that. However without all of those things, how students can
engage and be successful in your class?
In summary, I just want to say that the
role of a teacher in the life of his/her student actually never ends. Like the
quote from Henry Adams, He said that "A
teacher affects eternity; he can never tell, where his influence stops."
That sounds nicely, right? Yes, as you may know that with your students, you
grow. You grow from your parent to friend to your society and to your own
family; from caretaker to mentor and continue to influence students who admire
you all their life. Exactly they remember you for what they have got from you
and they are thankful to you for what you have taught them. That is one benefit
of being a teacher - you are remembered for not a short time, but for a long
timeJ
