Reader.
Reader.

I had a favourite teacher at school, I was obsessed with his class. It was maths, and then advanced math subjects as well. I was very good at it and he told me so and he told the whole class. I realised that was why I liked him – I functioned very well on praise and responded by trying to excel even further.

However, my best friend was not good at maths. She was in the same class as me. He did not treat her well and he really seemed to have no time for people who didn’t pick up concepts as quickly as others. I remember a lesson when he was handing out tests and when he got to us, he gave me one but looked at my friend and said “should you even bother?”.

 

I felt awful on behalf of my friend and shortly after I started tutoring her after school. We worked really hard but we also had fun doing it and she passed her exams 😀

I learnt a lot from my teacher. I learnt a lot about maths, but I also learnt that different people learn in different ways and at different paces. I think it was then that I figured out what kind of teacher (and person) I wanted to be – a compassionate one.

x desleyjane

 

In response to The Daily Prompt: Teacher’s Pet.

 

 

Posted by:desleyjane

photographer, blogger, planner, scientist, dog lover, frequent flyer, daughter, sister, BFF, human

25 replies on “Teaching a Lesson”

  1. love this post. teachers have a lot of power in young peoples’ lives. so cool you tutored your friend. she was lucky to have you. kids seem extra sensitive about their ability in the area of math.

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  3. Regardless of a teacher’s style, all teachers know that students have different learning modalities and aptitudes. I hated math and am (still) terrible at it. However, any teacher that can cultivate math and science in young women is to be applauded. And cheers to you for taking that road and also for helping your friend!

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  4. That is a beautiful story. It shows the good and the less good in one person, which is how things naturally work. And it shows you making the best out of your situation and doing a great thing for your friend!!

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    1. Thanks Mara, he was a good teacher, just exasperated by those who wouldn’t listen. But they didn’t listen because they didn’t get it, he needed to figure out how to teach “differently”….

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  5. wow that is a terrible thing he said to her, made me feel very sad. Teachers have no idea how badly they effect people by the things they say especially to impressionable youngsters, kinda makes me mad actually that as adults one cannot work out the impact that words have upon others. Thank you for writing this xx

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    1. I agree, it’s hard. There’s only so much time that they gave in one class, but how are WE supposed to know what’s going on? It’s tough, we have to make sure the children can tell US or SOMEONE what’s happening, if they can’t tell the teacher.
      Sorry to make you sad twice! 😘

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  6. What a wonderful friend you were, and while the teacher may not have modeled appropriate behaviour, you learned the important lesson. Well done for seeing through the negatives to create a positive. 🙂

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  7. Wonderful post, Desley. I wish I had a teacher as compassionate as you are.. At least I have the friend now! 😉
    Teachers have to know more about human behavior to be able to transmit their knowledge. It’s part of their job to deal with different people and with annoying ones too. It’s no excuse to say that some are not listening. They have to ask why. And act upon it because they can truly harm the kid with undermining comments like that. You’re more mature than this teacher.

    And the photo is AMAZING!
    Xx

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    1. Ah well you’re right of course. I’m trying to justify me liking him 😕
      He did actually teach me to be very good at maths (sadly I’ve lost some of that!!). But yes, it was a very bad way to treat someone, just 15 years old. Poor girl, she was so upset but absolutely resilient! We knuckled down and showed him. I just caught up with her a few months ago and it’s been a long time since we saw each other last. She is such a bright, happy and talented individual, mother of 4 amazing children and finishing a business degree at the same time! I’m so proud of her.

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    2. Oh and thank you for your comment on my photo. I took it with the EM5 and wanted to play with editing in Lightroom, I like the effect, good fun! I have a similar one on my updated ‘This is me’ page – me and GG overexposed ☺️ but it was done on my iPhone…

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  9. Positve re-enforcement is a powerful motivational tool.
    Unfortunately many of us overlook how equally powerful (and counter-productive) negative feedback can be.
    Not everyone is going to be outstanding at everything, but good teachers understand this and will help their students reach their full potential.

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