Understand Me by Aneisha

Understand Me by Aneisha - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

To help, is to understand. Yes, a teacher may know all about his or her subject of choice; be it History, or German, or Stats or Foods. And the teacher must also know how to teach it little by little to make sure it stays with the pupils. But, challenging as it may be to understand your students, it would make the learning experience all the better, for the teacher and the student.

Six hours of school-including socialization with peers, a couple hours for a sport or recreational activity, and then a hour or two to be spent on studying, and then the expectation of free-time is a lot to put on an adolescent. To have a brain be stuffed full of information, a brain that only has an attention span of 14 minutes, and then be expected to function correctly with other things outside of school is asking for a lot! But imagine having to live like that, and also have a mental illness.

Mental illnesses, in any case whether it be: Depression, ADHD/ADD, Bipolar Disorder, or Anxiety. To go hours at a time, forced to be in public with peers, forced to orally present in class, forced to be "normal" like the other students by being told "Everyone goes through it." No. No single person will ever live the same exact life as another, because of differences in our beings. If courses were in some way personalized to each student, by a teacher knowing his or her students, a mentally disabled student would be able to function correctly in school without the stresses of pressure.

If a teacher knows that their student suffers from severe social anxiety, make sure that student does not speak in class, unless told otherwise. If a student suffers PTSD, make sure you describe a movie that contains anything loud, harsh or unnerving. If a teacher or instructor knows that their student has Depression, clinically, don't tell them they are not trying their best at their work. It may seem exhausting having to get to know your students that circulate and change throughout the day, but these are teenagers with emotions, and opinions, and pressure, and stress. And these are sensitive years for them, either their happiest or darkest years.

Teachers cannot expect the best from everybody. Even the best teacher can elaborate on an event, and use a fully detailed story, but still some students will not comprehend. Don't yell or condemn them. The whole classroom can understand the subject, and one person will keep asking you to repeat it. Don't mock or ridicule them in front of their peers, praise them for stepping up and asking.

Life is already hard, why make it harder for anyone else? Get to know students, talk to students, understand your students. Be there for them. A teacher that understands and helps, is the best teacher one can ask for.