Advice to Teachers by Samuel

Advice to Teachers by Samuel - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

If I could give one piece of advice to help me learn, I would recommend making the class their own. It gets old going into every class when every teacher just goes right by the book and doesn't do anything to make the course their own. I find a class is more enjoyable when the teacher doesn't just read us paragraphs directly from the book. When the teacher finds different ways to explain the material it is easier for me to grasp what they are talking about. I've always enjoyed when teachers shared personal stories to explain something in class. I understand that teachers don't have a personal story for everything they teach in school, but if they do I think it helps students become more interested in what they are saying and allows them to easier understand.

I've never seen the point in a teacher who just reads the book to you. I would rather just read the book myself if that's all they are going to do. I've also noticed that a lot of the time when teachers read straight from the book, they will refer you to the book when asked a question. If this is the case then I do not even see the point of them being there.

In conclusion, I believe that teachers should not read straight from the book in order to teach the class. If the teacher makes the class different than a student is expecting, I believe the student will have an easier time learning in the class. It is a lot easier to learn from someone who knows the information well enough to make the class their own and make the class more interesting than the book.