Live to Learn

How bad and good teachers affect their students

Chloie Johnson, Reporter

We all have had those teachers that make us question if it’s worth coming to their class everyday. In my experience at Liberty, some classes can be super fun and go by in a flash, but on the other hand some classes tend to be a bore and you catch yourself daydreaming while the teacher is lecturing. You are just counting down the second to get out of the class.

What makes a bad teacher? A bad teacher is someone who doesn’t communicate well. They expect others to read their mind and meet their unstated expectations. At other times, they are simply boring when they do try to communicate. When a teacher makes you feel dumb is the worst. You’re in that class trying to learn and the teacher makes you feel like you haven’t learned anything causing you to not want to speak in class being afraid of how the teacher will react. It’s awful. But when the teacher is distant, always gone, on their computer, or perhaps they never talk, this creates confusion to what the students should be doing. It makes students wonder if they are supposed to be their own teacher. Also, when the teacher fails to build a trusting relationship with their students can cause a problem. If the teacher dreads being there, you’ll dread being in their class. All of these reasons can cause students to be in a bad mood and dread coming to school.

Even though there are bad teachers, they are like needles in a haystack. There are good chances that you’ll have a great teacher where time flies by in the class. It’s awesome when a teacher has a great sense of humor and incorporates jokes or stories that they have experienced to tie in with the lessons. Making the lessons memorable makes it easier to remember. It’s always a plus when a teacher is tremendously creative. I don’t know a student who would like to sit in a seat for 45 minutes and listen to a lecture, so when a teacher has a game or even a scavenger hunt that can always lighten the mood in the classroom getting them moving and thinking on their feet, showing that you can expand your knowledge and have fun while doing it!

Now, if I ever decide to go into teaching, my ways would be a little different from what we see at Liberty. I would always have some kind of game at the end of class whether it has to do with the lesson or not. That’s because school can be stressful with your classes and maybe life at home is a stress to, but we have to remember that we’re still kids and life isn’t so serious. Sometimes we just have to break loose and have fun a little. First, I would also get to know every kid in my class whether by names and knowing what works best for them in a learning environment. I would say maybe one day out of the week I would have the students teach the class and be graded that way. This will help them lock in the information better by learning different ways to remember the text. But when fun comes, there are also rules everyday. I would have them write down on a piece of paper what they’re confused on what they really understood and what they need a little help on. This would allow the students who are too shy to speak and ask questions in front of the class ask me personally so I can tell them the way it’s easy for them to learn without getting behind with everyday.

Many teachers demonstrate actions of good and bad. Everyone has room for improvement but then again school should not be dreaded where you just try to make it through one class without falling asleep. But if some of these teachers would have a open mind and listen to their kids or see how there kids react to being in the class and add a game in once in awhile, it could make a difference in students’ studies towards their teachers. School takes up a lot of your life, why not enjoy it?