The Mask of Kindness

When the subject of teachers is brought up, I realize that most people prefer to have lenient, loving teachers, as opposed to strict, dedicated teachers. This is, indeed, a debatable matter. Vigorous teachers are not who many think they are. Perhaps a teacher may be demanding, but that is so that s/he may provide a better education to prepare students for the next grade level.

Also, they are human. I have had such a teacher myself no more than two years before, whose name I will merely mention here as Mrs. C. At the time, I must admit that I was the teacher’s pet. Every single day, we were to complete twenty word maps, one short essay, a brief story, vocabulary packets, at least two science worksheets, and four mathematics assignments. I frequently found myself the only person who did them.

Simultaneously, I was being bullied by my peers for being a “boring” person. This carried on for quite an expanse of time – to the point where I took to speaking to myself. That habit I still have. I never knew that Mrs. C.

was watching, until one day, she stood up on her stool and gave a speech to the students. Her voice was strong, passionate, and the details that she mentioned were incredible. It was evident that she sensed much more than I thought she did – she paid attention. Of course, I was mentioned anonymously in her furious oration. At this point in time, there are two things that owe themselves to her: My high scores on the standardized tests that year – almost all perfect scores, and my newfound ability to defend myself. The second, despite the importance of the first, was more influential to my life.

It is a virtue that I think I will never lose. I have also had a teacher whose goal was to “have fun”. This was approximately two years ago as well, but I remember the experience due to the utter horror of it. The day I entered class, I felt that something was impossibly amiss. Throwing balls about in a classroom? Good heavens, I thought, that is stark mad! Of course, homework and classwork throughout that year was limited, thus diminishing our learning.

The year afterwards, I recollect that I struggled in the class for the same subject. My peers loved him, but I judged his teaching rashly. One’s mien is not always one’s intention. All teachers are unique, and their teaching styles cannot be replicated. Nevertheless, it is quite simple to determine a teacher’s impact on a student’s future.

A generally “nice” teacher who plays games during class and fails to observe strict classroom etiquette most likely has no future in their minds, they merely wish to live in the present with ease and comfort. A teacher who piles homework on their students’ heads are piling work on their own heads, thinking only of the mostly bright futures of their “cherub/gremlins”. They will also consider the emotions of their students, but laziness is, in fact, not truly an emotion. Laziness is a character trait that a class’s most likely candidate for a favorite teacher exhibits, masked by a bit of enticing and ease.