Just Like The Movies

New year, new blog. In this post, I will answer the question: what makes a teacher great. 

The two general requirements of a good teacher are knowing the material they teach, and enjoying teaching. A level up from that, the great teachers, are the ones that connect with the students. From my experience, these great teachers are the ones that have been teaching longer than they like to admit. However, I have seen many movies where the new teacher is the great one, knowing all the students extremely personally and managing to get all the students to pass some big test, when no one else on the faculty thought the students had any chance. Believing in students and having the determination to see them succeed are the best qualities a teacher can have. Those great qualities of teachers shine especially bright, in the cinema and in the tangible world when the students supposedly have no chance, and it seems everyone has given up their cause for lost.

Calvin and Hobbes, strip written by Bill Watterson, picture taken by Brooke Bi

During my first class of History as a sophomore, our class watched a Vlogbrothers video, starring the one and only John Green (even though there is at least one other John Green, a Sasquatch enthusiast). This certain video that we watched was an open letter to students, public school students in particular,  imploring us to give back to the community after we are fully educated. He hopes that public school students, once they are grown, will make his, and everyone else's, life better. For the most part, I agree with him. Public education should be looked at as a way to prepare for the future of the world as well as the futures of the individual students.  However, I hope that thinking does not shadow the value of the students themselves. If the teachers and faculty are always thinking about what is best for the world's future, they might forget to think about what is best for a particular student, but, I believe in most cases, those two things would be the same. As a public school student this year, I have one big goal, among other smaller ones. My main focus this year is trying to keep an open mind. I am aware obtaining this will require a lot of "mental fortitude" and adjustment, but I am ready.