Advising More Advice by Tyler

Advising More Advice by Tyler - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

As a future educator myself, I always contemplate how I will teach my students. With my ponderings, I have discovered one recommendation for teachers to help me learn; my advice would be for teachers to dispense more advice in the classroom.

This may seem like a crazy paradox to some, but this advice reflects my own experiences as a student in high school and college and my goals as a future teacher. Teachers are amazing individuals that possess an amazing amount of knowledge in not only their subject field, but in life as a whole. While my teachers and professors have proficiently taught me in their subjects, they have also taught me countless life lessons. I truly believe that classroom curriculum should contain classical coursework, but also advice that students will put to use in daily life. For example, my agriculture classes in high school reflect my views. My teacher, Mr. Colquitt, instructed his classes on all aspects of agriculture. I can still recollect facts about agriculture that I learned in ninth grade. But Mr. Colquitt taught me much that that; the life lessons and advice he gave me will stay in my mind together. His personal stories and anecdotes showed me how to live outside of the walls of a classroom. He instructed me on skills such as public speaking and interviewing. As an officer in his FFA chapter for four years, I came to him with many issues within the organization and in my personal life. Mr. Colquitt's advice on how to deal with numerous issues truly solved many of my problems. I can honestly say that I would not be the man I would be today if he had not guided me and bestowed many pieces of wisdom in my mind with his advice.

Looking to the future, this is the kind of teacher that I hope to be. I want to not only instruct students in music as a band director, but aid them in life in general. School should be a place where students truly learn how to live and survive in society. You can truly teach a student many things beyond a certain subject, and I have leaned the most through my teachers' helpful advice.

In closing, I once again advise teachers to freely dispense advice. The bulk of my learning came through the advice I received from teachers, and I wish every teacher would give more advice. If every teacher gave advice in a manner similar to Mr. Colquitt and allow us to learn from their personal testimonies and life lessons, for example, I would be able to learn tremendously more in the classroom, and apply even more of that knowledge to the world's largest classroom - life itself.