"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." by Elise

"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." by Elise - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

If I could give a teacher one piece of advice to help me, the student, and every other potential student for that matter, to learn, it would be – don’t give up.

The worst teachers I’ve had the unfortunate luck to “learn from” all had one thing in common: they simply gave up. Some had been teaching for 25 years and just decided one day to stop teaching the subject they were contractually obligated to teach, and instead, talked about their life, why they hated their job, what they’re going to do when they retired, and then, just as the class was going to end, assigned classwork and homework. Some stopped communicating with their students, or only did so in unconstructive or vicious ways, because despite possibly liking their subject, they were so set on their own ideas or standards of teaching, and so set on what they imagined all students were like, that constructive communication apparently was not even a conceivable option. And others ceased any attempt at coherency or organization, because working with things entirely “up in the air” was the only way they thought flexibility could be expressed in a system that systematically discourages flexibility.

These teachers stop caring about their subject (because they’re tired of the way their teaching it or the rigid standards), stop caring about their students (because they're tired of student’s lack of interest or simply lump all students together), or my least favorite, those teachers who have a way of speaking for an hour and yet say nothing (because they’ve chosen not to prepare or care about conveying information, hence THEY HAVE GIVEN UP TEACHING).
America’s education system is let’s say “difficult,” schools and teachers are either underfunded and lack resources, forced into fulfilling strict standards that neither encourage learning nor allow for flexibility, or use their generous resources for marginal things (i.e. new football field vs. updated library computers).

However, I think for most teaching is a calling, either you see the importance of shaping new minds or you don’t. Students can tell if a teacher teaches for that reason, because they know what their talking about, and enjoy what their talking about. Those other teachers, the ones who saw teaching as a fallback or those who thought teaching carries prestige and job security, we can tell that’s why your teaching.

The best teachers I’ve had included both seasoned instructors and teachers on their first and second year, natives to the area and those new in town. Students, no matter the age, are not easy, they can be infuriating and frustrating, but when you are unwavering in your effort, and have the one student or five who actually learns from your class, or is interested enough that it shapes the very path of their life then that teacher has to know it’s worth it. So please, don’t give up.