Teachers’ Day: What Makes a Teacher Memorable? And What About Students?
Olá pessoal, aqui é o Sergio Viula, do Grammar Drops! Tudo bem com vocês?
Today, I won't be talking about English grammar or vocabulary. Actually, I'll be talking about Teachers’ Day, which is coming up on October 15th here in Brazil. And I'd like to share a few thoughts with you.
What Makes a Teacher Special?
Earlier this week, I came across a very nice post by Cambridge about what makes a teacher memorable, what makes a teacher special. I read the six points they listed, and, fortunately, I could recognize many of those qualities in my own work.
Does that mean my work is perfect? Of course not! But it is certainly well done, and that's quite different. There's always room for improvement, but I know that the work I do is definitely above average.
Unfortunately, the average I often see consists of teachers who have lost their motivation, who no longer prepare their lessons properly, and who think that, especially when teaching English, all you need to do is have a chat with the student and everything will be fine. Lesson delivered, job done!
Well, that's not how it works. Anyone who truly teaches knows what I'm talking about.
When Students Don't Care About Learning
Now, there's something that irritates me deeply, something that's been bothering me more than ever lately. Perhaps the older I get, the more experience I gain, and the more I learn about people.
It doesn't matter how good, dedicated, or committed you are as a teacher. You'll always have groups and individuals who love your work, who will ask you to teach them again, who will tell you that your work made a difference in their lives, and who will describe you as organized, creative, and attentive.
And then you'll have the opposite experience.
You'll have people—and sometimes entire groups in which most students behave this way—who couldn't care less about anything. They don't care. They're not really interested in learning. They just want to get through the semester, perhaps to fulfill an obligation at the workplace that's paying for their scholarship.
Or you'll have teenagers and children who simply cannot recognize the rare and wonderful opportunity they have to learn a language that can connect them with the entire world.
And the frustrating thing is that you can do so much to make learning enjoyable and meaningful.
Teaching Is Much More Than Having a Chat
You can create games. I do that, by the way. I'm talking about things I actually do, not things I've merely read about somewhere.
You can use quizzes and intelligently designed questionnaires, often online, to make learning more enjoyable. You can create activities that encourage students to interact with one another in the classroom.
You can do your best to make difficult grammar points and complex vocabulary as accessible as possible. You can personalize activities and examples after providing a clear context for everything you're teaching.
You can take vocabulary that might otherwise seem sterile and lifeless and put it into a context where it comes alive and becomes much more colorful.
And yet, you'll still have students who speak Portuguese throughout the entire class, who get up for every little thing and for no reason at all, and who spend half an hour trying to fix a mechanical pencil, only to tell you they couldn't write because they didn't have a pencil.
Meanwhile, there's a whole container full of pencils sitting on top of your desk!
All they had to do was take one. They could have asked, or they could simply have said, "Excuse me, teacher, I'm borrowing one of these because I need it."
But no. That's how things go.
And then, when a teacher does a good job but the results aren't what they should be, guess who's often blamed?
The teacher.
Very often, the student is the one who hasn't done their part, but the teacher is the one who has to explain themselves.
A Student Who Kept Arriving Late
Last week, I had a very telling experience.
There was a student who kept arriving late. I knew he lived near the school, and I knew he didn't have another class scheduled at that time. So why was he arriving late?
On the day of the test, he showed up almost half an hour late.
I'd prepared an entire review session before the test. I did that specifically to make things easier for students who were struggling and to help everyone refresh their memory.
After all, they'd spent the previous week studying everything in Portuguese, and then they had to come to class and speak English. We needed to get warmed up and ready.
This particular student arrived so late that he missed the entire review session and only sat down to take the test.
Fine. The following class, he arrived late again. And in the next class, the same thing happened.
So I finally gave him a telling-off and said, "I'm going to talk to your mother. This can't keep happening. Something is seriously wrong here."
While the other students were doing an activity in class, I wrote a detailed email to his mother explaining the whole situation, including the fact that he'd missed the review session on test day.
Her reply came almost immediately.
She said, "Teacher, this is unacceptable because there's no reason for him to arrive late. He lives right next to the school, and he doesn't have a class at that time."
Then she told me something else.
That very day, by sheer coincidence, she'd gone looking for him to check whether he was actually going to class, and she'd caught him skipping it!
She added that he would have a very serious conversation with her when he got home later.
Then she thanked me for my support and for helping her deal with the situation.
Now, that's a real mother!
Parents Have a Role to Play, Too
That's a real mother. Do you know what a real mother or father is not?
It's the kind of parent who receives a message from you and says something like, "Oh, teacher, that's not my responsibility. You'll have to talk to my wife," as if he weren't the child's father, too.
Or the mother who says, "Oh, teacher, he has so much schoolwork to do."
Well, if he's so overwhelmed with schoolwork, perhaps he should just focus on school, right? Why should he take an additional course if he doesn't have time to do the work required for it?
Of course, financially speaking, that would be counterproductive. I wouldn't actually say that to the mother, but I certainly think it.
So I simply explain the consequences: "Look, this is going to affect his test performance. He won't be able to do well on the test because he hasn't had enough practice or training."
And that's generally exactly what happens.
The Self-Assessment That Wasn't Done
I once had a student whom I reminded four times during the same class that he had to complete a self-assessment. This assessment is worth up to 10 points.
The little darling, to put it politely, went home without doing it.
It was the final day to complete the assessment, and he'd already had an entire week to do it. I'd reminded him four times, and he still didn't do it.
But if he gets zero, he thinks that's outrageous.
Honestly!
The Two Realities of Being a Teacher
Being a teacher really means living with two realities.
The first is that people enjoy working in education because of the good part of the experience. You know, the good apples: those students who really do their work, who enjoy learning, who get involved, and from whom you also learn a great deal on an individual level.
Those students make a difference. They remind you why you do what you do. And they're one of the reasons you keep going.
The second reality is that you're financially struggling, just like doctors, lawyers, and engineers who are in trouble if they don't receive their salaries every month. Yet somehow, people think teachers belong to the bourgeoisie.
I've never fooled myself about that. Never. I know exactly where I stand in society.
And that's precisely why I'll celebrate Teachers’ Day on October 15th. Yes, because teachers make an enormous difference in society.
And on October 25th, ten days later, I'll vote for Lula because he's the one I believe cares about education.
My Message to Students
So here's my advice to you: don't be one of those lazy people who think that whenever they fail to achieve good results, it's the teacher's fault.
Be like this teacher: hardworking, dedicated, committed, creative, and passionate.
And show those same qualities as a student.
Learning is not something a teacher can do for you. A teacher can guide you, prepare activities, explain difficult concepts, give you feedback, encourage you, and help you overcome obstacles. But you have to do your part, too.
You have to show up, participate, practice, complete your assignments, and take responsibility for your own learning.
That's how progress happens. That's how you make the most of the opportunities you have.
When Will Cambridge Talk About Memorable Students?
There's one last thing I'd like to mention.
After reading Cambridge's post about what makes a teacher memorable, I asked them a question:
"When are you also going to publish something about what makes a student memorable, what makes a student unforgettable?"
I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing that!
So far, I haven't received an answer.
Perhaps it's time we started talking about the other side of the classroom, too. After all, teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin, and both teachers and students have responsibilities.
What do you think makes a student memorable? What makes a student someone a teacher will remember years later?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Take care, everyone. A big hug!
Sergio Viula
Grammar Drops: English can be easier than you think!
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