More Than A Teacher

Last Friday marked movie day, and we watched "Freedom Writers". The story was about a first time teacher who had to handle a class of delinquents, which mainly tackled the issue of racism, gang-life, violence, all placed in an academic setting. The students in the class were nowhere near reachable at first since they were completely closed in on themselves and their groups, and had no regard for education whatsoever. What was amazing is how the teacher, who had no experience at all at that, was able to get through to them, open up about their experiences, and go outside of their comfort zones a.k.a the gangs that they belonged to. Beyond this, she also made them want to realize the importance of education and want to learn more, and learn more and better themselves, and even ended up getting their grades higher.

The way she never gave up on her students, no matter how high their walls were, is an admirable trait that should always really be upheld in teaching. She tried a variation of teaching approaches to get her students to respond, and structured lessons in ways that the students' attention would be maintained. Different unorthodox activities were also provided, as she saw that this was the way to maximize their learning. I think that her perseverance as a teacher is something that I would keep in mind as a teacher myself in the future. It made me see that there is no one way of teaching students, and that your teaching approach must be creative and flexible at the same time, so as to ensure student participation and reception.

This movie was definitely a good eye-opener to see how teachers really put effort into their work, and how selfless they can be. This is a reminder that one must really put the interest of the learner at the center of the whole teaching process, and ensure that the ways being implemented are beneficial to them.

Aside from how she taught and made them participate, she became an inspiration for them- which is something that a teacher shall exude. She made them realize that she was not just a teacher, but someone who wanted their betterment. This really got to me, as this is how I'd want to be seen when I teach. In the future, I'd make sure that my patients see me as more than a therapist who's just there to do her job; I want them to know that I'm there not just to get the session over with, but that I'm there because I truly want to see them get better and improve their lives. I think this is something that we have yet to apply when we teach, and something that we should definitely exude in the future.