Celebrating Teachers and Tips for Teachers

Chris Romankiewicz
New Jersey

The best math teacher I ever had took the time to go over everything thoroughly and make sure that everyone understood what he was talking about. He explained things simply and slowly, and put things in terms that we could understand. He didn't move on to a new topic even if there was one person still having difficulty. Then he went over numerous examples to make sure that we understood it.

I had another good teacher who had group discussions. Not only was she caring, but she respected you. She wanted to hear your opinion. She understood that you were growing up, and wanted to hear what you had to say. In that class, everyone gave respect to the person who was speaking. I contributed all the time in that class, more than in all of my other classes.

I had a teacher who gave good reasons for everything we had to learn, instead of just giving straight facts. Understanding the reason why and how things happen really helps you understand the facts.

The greatest teacher I ever had was my sixth grade teacher. He was just a ball of energy. He could be joking one minute and then bring you back to work without any problem at all. You loved him and respected him, and were scared stiff of him too· because if you weren't doing your work, he would be right there on you. He wouldn't let you get away with anything. He had been there, done that, and wouldn't take any excuses. At the same time, he also had the ability to make everything fun.

But as a student in his class, it became more than just fun. He made you feel that you were smarter because you were in his class. He was pushing you, and you were going to leave his class so much farther ahead. He just had constant enthusiasm and energy that could just could just take you beyond.

The best teacher I ever had knew nothing about learning disabilities. He was just a true teacher. Right off the bat, he showed that he cared and that he enjoyed teaching. And he taught in a style that really worked. He didn't just stand up and lecture; he got students active and he used humor. There were a lot of discussions, and students could show what they learned through writing, through reading, and through speaking. In other classes I took, the only way to express yourself was through writing. For someone like me, that wasn't a way of expressing yourself at all.

I had a tutor and worked with her twice a week. She was the one who found my dyslexia. I love her because she gave me life again. She first tested me and she told me my reading level and said I could get help. She said that I had potential, that whatever reading level I had, it could get better and that I could learn·.It's not that I can't learn, or that this is all I can do.

My tutor taught me how to sound out words, and about short vowels and long vowels. She didn't just ask me to read something, she said, "I'm going to show you how to do it, step by step." And if I didn't know it she would go back and teach me a second time, and if I still didn't know it, she would teach me a third time. She was very patient with me, and very understanding

One of my best instructors teaches study skills while we learn the subject matter. While we are working on the material we have to learn, she teaches us margin noting, highlighting, and revising notes. When we have a test, she'll teach you how to study for it. She gave us a study guide, and whenever she revised the plan, she would give us a new one, or have us change it. When we go over something, she'll make you read it, discuss it, do it for homework, and then say it in your own words so you really understand it. And when we talk about something that relates to what we talked about before, she'll refer back to it, so you make those connections

There are several things that really helped me become who I am today. The first was a teacher that I had when I was nineteen. She said to me, "Well, just because you have trouble reading, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't read or you can't read. It just means that we will take things at a different speed and in a different way." And it was through that process that we read a book that took the whole summer to read. But she taught me that any obstacle that I find in life is not an obstacle, but something that goes against my natural flow and I have to find avenues around it. She was the person who introduced me to who I am and how I work and that was a phenomenal day--as a matter of fact, a Thursday at about two-thirty. I remember that specifically and have never forgotten that woman. I wonder if she realizes the profound effect she had on me.

Tips for Teachers

Marta Cruz
New York

The most important thing teachers can give students is understanding. Listen to them. Pay attention to what the kids are doing, to their behaviors. If a student is acting up, teachers usually think there's something wrong at home. They don't think something might be wrong in school, that they are having trouble learning.

Not everyone is the same - all students are different, and they have different ways of learning. Just because this one child doesn't learn like the other ones doesn't mean that he's slow or stupid. There's something wrong, and teachers need to take the time to stop and wonder why this student is not doing as well as the others. Not just think "He's slow, he can't keep up." Not think, "I can't slow down, it's not fair to the other students." I don't think its fair to that student, because he's going to fall through the cracks. He's not given the attention and the extra time that he needs. My main concern is kids who don't act up, kids who are so nice and sweet, kids who fall through the cracks because they're so quiet. They do their work. I was that kid.

Teachers shouldn't think, "Oh she didn't learn that, no big loss, keep her moving, pass her, she'll find other ways, no problem." But, there is a problem, as soon as you graduate. When you go out into the real world, people expect things from you. They need someone who can take things, read them, do things, and handle pressure. They don't want to hear you can't do it.

When you become classified with LD, even at an early age, social labels can also occur. You get a lot of doors shut in your face. People think you're incompetent. Even close friends ridicule you because you don't comprehend things they way they do. Teachers have to be careful about what they say and do with those classifications. They can be very valuable to teachers at an educational level, but outside, they can be very frustrating to the student.

It's hard for teachers, because they have to deal with so many students. Smaller classes are definitely key. I think the biggest thing is you just have to be down to earth, and realize we're still growing, still maturing, still finding things out about ourselves. Small things, like a passing comment ("Is everything going well with you?") amount to a lot in the long run.

When you're not successful in school you need friends who believe in you, who don't make fun of you, and who think you are nice. A lot of people don't find someone like that. Teachers should do something to help children realize that it's not fair to humiliate others. Teachers can teach them to support and respect kids who have trouble in school, instead of putting them down!

Don't be close minded about people that don't learn as easily or as fast as other people, because it gives them the feeling that they're not worth anything. If someone is not learning, don't just say "He could do it, but he just needs to work harder." Maybe there's another problem. Try to figure out what it is, and advise them to do testing.

Teachers can help so much by teaching students ways to learn what they're teaching. They can teach study skills while they're teaching the subject. They can teach students to actively read - to highlight, to make margin notes, to identify and learn new vocabulary. They can even give a homework assignment to make study questions and answer those questions.

I wish I had been taught study skills early on. I wish there were more people that believed in me. I wish teachers were educated not only about learning differences but also how to deal with them. I also wish they were more open to people who aren't just the perfect student.

You really can't begin to help anybody in any particular environment until you legitimize that what they have to offer is of value. Teachers can do that by showing that they value who that person is and what that person can do on different levels. This gives to the individual the understanding that although he might not be succeeding right here, he can still do something else over there, and do it very well. And, because of that success over there, he's going to keep trying to succeed at this difficult task right here.

I'm talking about legitimizing the value of that student and the effort that student is making, and allowing that student to see within himself something positive and strong. When it happens, that student finds it a lot easier to go and work on those things that need more development.

I had many assignments, tests, and classes that I didn't like and didn't pass. That was the predominant experience of my education. I did best when I had teachers who were able to see me not as a person with learning difficulties but as a talented person with a lot to offer. They were able to create a positive learning environment for me.

I had assignments that I worked on as a team with other students. I was able to get my questions answered and to have an open dialogue with the professor or the teacher. I thrived when teachers were clear and disciplined in what they were asking, but open in allowing me to accommodate myself in a way that I could. I had tests that were graded not only on mechanics but also ideas. When I wrote a thesis in college, I got C- on the written paper and a "distinction" in the oral defense of my thesis. This is a great example of allowing someone to use two different means of expression, where both are valued.

Individuals who have difficulty with learning can have their school experiences transformed by teachers who understand the many ways people can learn and who genuinely appreciate diversity in thinking and learning patterns. Helping students to succeed by teaching in diverse ways and by accessing alternative pathways for learning is one of the greatest gifts that teachers can give.

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