To my future Secret Mentor by Sandra

To my future Secret Mentor by Sandra - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

Teachers engrave a ridiculous amount of information in students' brains so quickly yet I have always wondered if teachers and professors are aware of the huge impact they actually make in their students’ lives and how influential their role truly is. I mean, most people can actually point out one particular teacher who touched their life in a unique way, that one teacher that inspired that particular person and touched their life so deep that even as adults they can remember them. What does it take to be that teacher and earn such a majestic spot in one’s heart? Well, here's the secret, prof.

Let me share with you four words that could potentially change the way you are viewed as an educator and approached by your students. Show that you care.

All students are aware that you are getting paid to teach, we know that you are getting paid for what you do. Therefore let me elaborate on what I mean with SHOW THAT YOU CARE and allow me to advise you on how this small change may actually turn into a major life change for a student.

Take the time to actually gain your students’ trust. It is imperative that students understand and truly believe that you are there for them, to teach the material, even if they don’t care for it, you will work as hard as you can and do your part. Email them, tell them, meet with them, it does not matter: what matters is the action of speaking up and taking the time, YOUR time, to let them know that it is a team effort and they must play their part and be committed to it, as you are.

Consistency matters, now I don’t mean send an email every two weeks, but what I mean is more amongst the lines of: being relatable. The more relatable you are the more likely students will see your points of view because they'll understand where they come from. Remember that we are students and we are here to learn, so it would be good for you to inspire the student. Tell stories, relevant stories. Share quotes, life experiences, anything that might have made a strong impact in your life, because more than likely those words will impact someone in that room. I promise.

Love what you do. If you don’t, how do you expect students to appreciate your topic. Show appreciation for the subject, show that it is relevant to this world, to them, give examples of why your topic is relevant and give them a reason to believe that they should sit through an entire class of the same subject because it matters. It should matter to them and because it matters to this world.

It’s the little things that make students so fond of teachers and professors. Life lessons. By following the advices I mentioned teachers and professors are showing students that if they can do it, then so can their students. Professors find something that they are passionate about, do what they love, share that passion with others and in the process, do it in a way in which students will find the beauty of the topic on their own.

Somewhere along those lines, a student will learn something, something that will stick for them for the rest of their lives and when they realize where this life lesson came from, the teacher becomes a mentor, one that will be engraved in their hearts for their rest of their lives, even if the teachers or professors are not ever aware of it.