Mr. Keating by Yves Carlo

Mr. Keating by Yves Carlo - July 2014 Scholarship Essay

Teachers are one of the most underpaid and underappreciated professionals in society. Not only are they tasked to educate the future generations, but also to develop their minds and morals. Teachers sacrifice their time, energy, and sometimes, own paycheck just to make a difference in their students’ lives. Students are usually unaware of this, and tend to like fun, easy, and laid back teachers while disliking those who require hard work and determination. In my eyes, the best teachers are the ones who teach effectively, condense their assigned work, and connect well with students. I have not encountered a teacher who meets this criteria as well as my freshman biology teacher, Mr. James Keating.

Mr. Keating is known throughout my high school for having an extremely unorthodox teaching style in comparison to other teachers. While traveling the world, he has had the opportunity to witness how students learn best in other countries. He fuses various styles from the nations he visited into the traditional teaching style of PowerPoint presentations, lectures, etc. During one particularly lengthy lecture about biological nomenclature, Mr. Keating saw that we were struggling memorizing the system, so, he made us stand up, and repeat everything he said, while “threatening” us with a meter stick. At the end, he bowed to us, just as a Japanese instructor would do in front of his pupils. This exercise served its purpose in helping us memorize the material, as well as opening our eyes to Mr. Keating’s skill as a teacher. He commands total authority without ever raising his voice in the classroom and has zero tolerance in being interrupted by rude students. However, Mr. Keating allows students to interact and work in groups during time set aside for in class work.

Students often claim that teachers like to assign busy work whenever they do not feel like lecturing a class. Mr. Keating ensures that his work pertains strictly to the material found in the textbook, is challenging, and does not require answers multiple lines long (He practices paper conservation). Although the work load is somewhat easy, tests are a completely different story. They are mostly based out of the textbook, with some questions being impossible to answer unless the text was read thoroughly. Despite this minor setback, students do not feel any bitterness towards Mr. Keating. Instead, they thank him for having prepared them for the semester final (which is written solely by the department head).

Teaching effectively is only half the battle for a teacher. Students learn best when they relate the material to their lives. Relating to students is Mr. Keating’s strongest suit. Freshmen do not typically think so, due to his age. But, if the lecture is boring, he would make “teenager jokes” in his presentations and act as if he has no idea why we are laughing. Other times, he would insert a story from one of his travels into lectures. When he sees that the class has no energy, he would present random interesting facts he acquired in college, or from previous years as a teacher. Without a doubt, he is the most prestigious and respected teacher to walk the halls of my school.

My life has been changed dramatically by this amazing man. He taught me how to solve outside of the box using unconventional and creative methods. Mr. Keating taught me how to work more efficiently. Most importantly, he taught me how to embrace change, which is prevalent in today’s world. These skills are the most important life skills that teachers desire to leave on their students, and they will be remembered throughout my entire life.