Students
Students
As a graduate of the Colgate teacher education program, I…
…care about all students and am committed to their diverse ways of learning.
*This section is copied from my college, pre-service teaching portfolio. One day I'll get around to revising.
As stated in my "About Me" page, one of my motivations for becoming a teacher was because I often felt victimized by my sixth grade math teacher. To me, one of the worst things in this world is a child who deserves to learn, wants to learn, but is told they can't or are ignored when clear signs of confusion or incomprehension are demonstrated by the student. I have always felt the teaching spirit within me and I am drawn to people who I sense are having trouble with something academically as well as personally. It is my eternal goal to help others as best as I possibly can. I recall many times as a grade school student when I would get in trouble for conducting side conversations in class, the teacher never knowing that I was actually helping the person next to me understand what we were doing because they were too shy or uncomfortable asking the teacher for further clarification. As a teacher, it strikes my heart to see a student give up on themselves. I can admit that my greatest challenge teaching to date has been coping with times during class when a student is lost and I can only provide them with a couple minutes of individual attention before the rest of the class who is ready to move on becomes unruly without my full attention to them and their needs. I have worked hard to implement grouping strategies and differentiate classroom activities periodically so that I am able to spend more concentrated time with some students who need more personal attention. Additionally, I make every effort to make myself available and encourage my struggling students to come in for extra help. It was always disheartening leaving school knowing that even one student would go home unprepared and lacking the confidence needed to get through homework assignments or even the next day's lesson. Some may view what I have said as being overly emotional...personally I believe it demonstrates a commitment to my students, to seeing them through hardships, and being the support they need to excel in mathematics.
" Sunil wanted EVERY student to succeed. Sunil had high expectations for his students. The students rose to the challenge. If a student didn't understand a concept he would spend time with them after school, during his free period or study block, patiently explaining or re-teaching what they didn't understand. He didn't rest until they understood the concept. One of Sunil's biggest assets is his compassion towards his students. His quiet demeanor and gentle mannerisms really came through. It would bother him terribly if a student with low self-esteem would give up or refer to themselves as "stupid." Sunil would constantly tell them that they were not stupid, encourage them to try and never walked away from a student who had thrown in the towel. Those are the students that he was drawn to." - Jeanmarie McLean, Mentor Teacher
It was really difficult for me to leave my first placement students behind. Clicking on the link below will take you to a goodbye letter that I wrote to one of my classes that I secretly attached to the last unit exam I administered to them. I believe it genuinely illustrates the caring nature I express towards my students. I think the letter also shows the type of humorous and sarcastic yet motivating relationship that I am able to build with my students.
One of my 10th grade students wrote me the personal goodbye note below which I feel points to the great relationships I am able to forge with my students. Hopefully he doesn't really believe that teachers only work for half of the year.
