The Good in Teachers
Not everyone
is fortunate enough to have teachers that come into their students’ lives and
have some sort of impact on them. Luckily
for me, I was one of those fortunate students and had two teachers in
particular who impacted my life. Two of
the best teachers I could’ve had, Mrs. Jenkins and Coach KJ will forever hold a
place in my heart. Both of them were
always there for me no matter what the circumstance was, as well as challenging
me to push myself into becoming an outstanding student. There was a difference between the two
though. Mrs. Jenkins seemed to have a
more easy going side to her to where as Coach KJ wasn't afraid to raise her voice
to get her point across.
I've never
been one to talk about my feelings or show any signs of emotion whatsoever. Both Mrs. Jenkins and Coach KJ had the same
thoughts on how I should vent out all my feelings. In the fourth grade Mrs. Jenkins had made us
write a lot, it seemed outrageous in a way that fourth graders would write as
much as we did. I didn't have the
greatest child hood growing up and both teachers helped me through those times
in my life. Mrs. Jenkins would have me
express my feelings through poetry and surprisingly, it worked. It didn't get rid of all my problems, but it
was nice to just let it all out. In high
school, my relationship with my step dad went from an emotional roller coaster
to a downward spiral. Even though I never
had KJ as my real teacher, she was a great coach and helped me in any way she
could. One day during lunch, I went into
her room to tell her about how awful my weekend was and had I just couldn't wait till the day came for me to move out.
She then went onto tell me to write a letter to my mom regarding my
feelings. I never gave it to her but
putting all my thoughts and frustrations took my pain away for a short amount
of time. I loved how no matter what,
Mrs. Jenkins and Coach KJ were always there for me. What made it even better is that KJ
understood what I was going through and could relate in a small way. They were both listeners as well as advice
givers.
When I was
younger, I was the kind of child that would give up when things started to
become difficult and frustrating. But that
changed shortly after being in Mrs. Jenkins classroom and then when it all
seemed to fade away, KJ came in and reminded me that it’s not healthy to give
up. Writing was never really something
that interested me, until Mrs. Jenkins changed my thoughts on it. She would give the class prompts and then
once we were done we would individually go meet with her. Mrs. Jenkins would make corrections in my
essays which made me feel I wasn't the great writer I wanted to be. She would see me getting frustrated and then
went onto tell me how I had a gift and my writing was unique especially for my
age. Although I didn't have KJ as a
teacher, I would go to her before practice to get help with my math homework. Before I could even begin to
ask for help Coach KJ would say “Did you try the problem first?” Her next follow up question would be, “Let me
see your work to see how you tried solving the problem.” It would work the same way in practice and
during games/meets. She would push me
until I felt I couldn't go no more. KJ
made me not only a better student but a better athlete. Both teachers had me push myself in more ways
than I could ever imagine myself doing. I
was faced with all kinds of obstacles growing up and am still going through some. It is because of them that I have the ability
to challenge myself.
Mrs. Jenkins
was more of an easy going teacher. She would
hardly ever get mad or raise her voice even.
She would handle problems in a calm soothing way. There were quite a few misbehaved students
and it was amazing how well Mrs. Jenkins would handle them when they
misbehaved. Coach KJ on the other hand wasn't as easy going. She had a bit of a
short temper at times and you did not want to get on her bad side when she was
having a bad day. During practice if you
talked while she was talking to all of us, she would yell and then make you run
the trails or do stadiums for punishment.
On top of her being my coach, she was also who I was a student aide
for. If her students would talk while
she was giving a lesson, she would give them this look and they would instantly
know to shut up. The look was pretty
much their warning then after, they would be isolated on their own. Both had different ways of handling problems,
but still good teachers.
Even though
they have their similarities and differences, they make amazing teachers. Both of them will always be special people to
me. They went over and beyond to help
shape me into who I am today. I couldn't be more blessed with having teachers like them come into my life. Mrs. Jenkins was so great with all her students
that my brother has her as a teacher this year.
I still even keep in contact with Coach KJ, after moving all the way
across the country. Mrs. Jenkins and KJ
both weren't just considered teachers to me.
They were considered role models and people I look up to. It’s partially because of them that I’ve even
considered becoming a school teacher. I can’t
thank them enough till this day for influencing my life. They are the kinds of teachers more students
need.
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