My Idea of a Good Teacher Part 1

I (un)fortunately belong to the so-called “cream of the crop” among the sophomores. Well, to say the least, I am fortunate for having the best *ehem* teachers and the lowest *ehem ehem* grades. 

A usual everyday scenario in the room is when I find my classmates busy reading their notes, marking their books and consistently banging their heads to anything hard they see, while I lazily scan my own (and I really have so many regrets until now). We only have an hour and a half break in between our subjects and I always find myself having a hard time reading in advance for the next subject, only to satisfy my teachers’ dream and mine, during these breaks.

I have attended approximately 12 years of schooling and I have met different types of teachers having their unique styles in teaching and giving tests. I have met some sadists, some pet owners, some trying hards, and some two-thumbs-up.  Though I would like to name these educators, ehem, I think it is better if they’ll just have to realize that they possess some characteristics that are merely ill-suited in the field of education.

1. The Sadists. These were my teachers who appear to be overjoyous when they discover that we are “nangangamote” in their self-made exams. I don’t know why. To think that the results of the exams reflect their teaching abilities and effectiveness, I don’t really understand how they find happiness and enjoyment while watching our noses (and even our ears) bleed as we scribble our answers on the test paper. Some of these sadists are so “sadist” they give us piles of assignments and unreasonable researches in addition to their over-complicated-no-hope-of-passing tests. They claim that all of these “work” (I suppose they should call it punishment) are just for our good. Yeah right.

2. Pet Owners. I couldn’t think of a better name for this kind of teachers but I think you are familiar with the overly used term  “spoon feeding”. Arrogance aside, I am somewhat insulted when these teachers start to speak. They are making the lesson oversimplified that there is hardly anything to ponder on. I am not saying that I am very intelligent (heck! I wish I was) but I think you get my point. You see, as imperfect creations patterned after a perfect Being, we are blessed with mental capacity to understand everything that is going on around us, and we are also responsible in improving that capacity. It is unwise if we are contented with what is merely being injected to us. Our brain has the capacity to “explore more”, to think more, to ask more, to know more. 

On the other hand, these teachers are a great relief, most especially if their subjects come right after the sadists’. I rejoice a lot.

3. Trying hard wanna-bes. I had some teachers who were the opposites of number 2. They make simple matters complicated. Over-complicated, that they themselves could not explain. Their tagline is, “Basahin mo na lang”. This is probably their last resort when they are lazy to (or worse, when they cannot) answer a simple question. Some of them brag about their educational backgrounds during the first day of classes, though I am not saying that all who do this is a trying hard. Some mentioned that they are master’s degree holders. Honestly, the first time I met a teacher claiming she has master’s, I was really impressed. The next day, when she had started discussing, I was very disappointed. 

These teachers have the sadist tendency–they try to give difficult quizzes to make them appear intelligent. They use highfalutin terms that are, sometimes, inapplicable or inappropriate just to make us think that they are, intelligent. And the worst trying hard of all, are those that have insecurities with their students. I had a classmate before who was brimming with intelligence. And unfortunately for him, he was usually the subject of hardcore embarrassment. The teacher’s style was sarcasm. Until my classmate struck her dumb with a witty question that until now she probably cannot answer. Right back at yah.

4. Two thumbs up. Just a note, why is it that whenever a new movie is coming up in theaters, the usual “comment” or “testimonial” I read is the phrase “two thumbs up”?

Well anyway, in my twelve years of academic existence, I also had some teachers who are undoubtedly good. And the good thing about them is that, they don’t brag. Well, two of them did once brag but, they have the right to do so. They’re just really good.

Sometimes, they give essay types of questions during quizzes and exams (honestly, I prefer essays over objective types, names and dates in particular, curse them). I believe these can serve as better gauges of understanding (and of course attention) rather than having the student memorize the periodic table or state the preamble. I love it when they ask questions starting with “how” and “why”. Aside from they are very mentally challenging, these are the questions that I am assured of not having a zero score (is that even a score?) even if I did not review. Some teachers give considerations to your effort and even the ink of you ball pen. So whenever an essay question is up, I say to myself, “I won’t definitely get an itlog“.