There are
countless of educators that people will endure throughout their lives. They
start out with merely their parents, teaching them to eat, speak, and walk.
They then graduate to the most highly accomplished professors in college and
experience a completely different learning experience. We encounter informal
teachers too, from Sunday school teachers, to our friend’s parents teaching
us their secret cookie recipes. People have faced countless teachers that
impacted their lives forever, many teachers that were only average, and a few
teachers that were just terrible. The two teachers that serve as examples as
great educators are, Mr. Keating from the movie Dead Poet's Society, and my
high school history teacher, Mr. Mosby. Being the exceptional teachers they
are, Mr. Keating and Mr. Mosby impacted the lives of their students by being
devoted to them and being truly brilliant.
Devotion is an
important key to being exceptional. Being an exceptional teacher doesn't hinge
just on their ability to teach well and being well liked, like Mr. Mosby, an
exceptional teacher needs to be devoted. Mr. Mosby showed his devotion to his
students in multiple different aspects. He stays after school to help, he works
with students even in their toughest times, and he finds and gives his students
every opportunity possible to succeed.
Devotion comes
in many different ways. Setting your students up for success with every
possible tool is definitely a form of devotion. Mr. Mosby found and used
hundreds of different handouts, books, power points, and guides to help his
students succeed. He put together handouts that guided his students through
studying before a test and vocabulary words to study to further their
knowledge. He has books on tips for getting a five on the AP exam for reference
and he does tutoring sessions in the library on set days when his students need
it. He is exceedingly devoted to the success of his students.
Mr. Mosby got
results. He got good grades from students; got them to work hard and always
finished the year with a job well done. He even got this from the students who
were going through the toughest times, or in the toughest situations. Students
of his get into car accidents, get sports injuries, or go through tragedy all
the time and have to miss school more than usual. He does the most possible to
get them caught up, to keep their grades up, or to just ease the stress. He
devotes himself to getting them back into things and ending the year with a
good grade regardless of the situation. This is one of the many reasons why he
gets endless respect from his students, past or present, and his peers.
Mr. Mosby was an
exceptional teacher as well, because he was brilliant. He truly was a genius,
especially in the eyes of his students. He did many things that astounded his
students and he always knew the right thing to say. This is not the case with
Mr. Mosby. He always knew what he was talking about, asked brilliant questions
to make his students really think, and applied everything in a way that his
students understood.
Every student
knows that a teacher will not give you an answer that directly answers your
question. He will dance around the correct answer so that you can figure it out
on your own. Mr. Mosby brilliantly thought up questions to make his students
think and dig deep into their own knowledge to figure it out themselves. He
would ask questions that related to what he talked about to everything else
that he taught, to make it easy for his students to understand.
Mr. Mosby genuinely
was brilliant because he applied everything in a manner that his students could
understand. He didn't just read something off the paper and let them figure it out
themselves or teach his students something without an application or an
allusion to something else. He always used his knowledge to further deepen his
students' understanding of the subject. He would allude to the Bible and the
stories that a many of the students heard as little kids or to books that they
were reading in their English classes. He would apply the war schemes of the
Germans and their allies against the Austro-Hungarians and their allies in
World War I to the floor and the set up of the classroom. Every power point and
handout was articulated magnificently so that every one of his students could
follow along.
Just as Mr.
Mosby was a great teacher because of his devotion and brilliance, Mr. Keating
possessed the very same qualities. Mr. Keating was also very devoted to his
students. He believed in them and pushed them to do what they wanted to do. He
consistently stood up for his students and defended them. He advocated for
their ability to think for themselves. He pushed them to do things they were
uncomfortable with in order for them to succeed and he unquestionably believed
in his students.
At the beginning
of the movie Dead Poet's Society Mr. Keating advocated for his students'
ability to think on their own without even knowing them. He stood up for his
students against another teacher at the school already believing in them
without having personal relationships with any of them. Throughout the story he
consistently defends them against Mr. Nolan, other teachers and administrators
and even the student's parents who don't believe in them and what they're
capable of. He was truly devoted to his students and their lives.
Neil, one of Mr.
Keating's students, wanted to be an actor, but his father didn't approve of
this because he was paying large sums of money to allow him to go to this
school and he was planning for him to be a doctor. His father wanted to decide
his future for him and think for him. Mr. Keating didn't believe in that and
had unconditional faith in Neil and his interests. He believed that Neil should
stand up for what he wanted to do and to tell his father that he wanted to act.
Mr. Keating pushed him to pursue his passion. He believed that he could do it
and was dedicated to his students and committed to building their self-esteem.
Not only was Mr.
Keating exceptional because he was hilarious and devoted, he was also
brilliant. His teaching was brilliant. His witty remarks were brilliant. His
humor was brilliant. The fact he could use a quote from a poem for every
situation was brilliant, and his advocacy for his students was brilliant. He
used his genius to create a great learning environment for his students and
made them want to learn. He brilliantly used poetry to immerse his students,
used analogies and imageries to captivate them, and he truly knew and loved
poetry.
Mr. Keating used
poetry absorb his students into what their lives would be like if they lived it
a certain way. He brilliantly used the words "Carpe Diem" which means
"seize the day," to make the boys interested in poetry and make an
impact on the school in the way they live their lives. He used what he loved,
poetry, to immerse them in the idea of seizing the day and getting them
interested in his class and in poetry.
To get his
students to understand poetry the way he does, Mr. Keating uses things that
they do everyday to figure it out. He takes them to the soccer fields multiple
times and have them quote poems as they kick the balls. Mr. Keating also has
them stand on top of his desk to look at the world in a different way for them
to understand perspective. He constantly takes them out of class to show the
connections between poetry and everyday life. His students understand and love
poetry the way he does by the end because of the efforts he makes. Mr. Keating
uses these analogies and imageries to captivate his students in the world of
poetry so they will understand. This is not only brilliant but also devoted.
Even though both
Mr. Keating and Mr. Mosby provide exquisite examples of being devoted and
brilliant, they do have differences. They're two educators, teaching in two
different time periods. For example, their view on teenagers and authority were
different. However, people can have educators with different mindsets
completely but still have exceptional experiences with both. People encounter
dozens of educators in their life. They can range from just your old neighbor
man who teaches you good morals to the most accomplished professors.
Regardless, they're all important. Some may be good, others may be bad, and if
you're blessed, you'll get the most exceptional of teachers. Being of the
exceptional type, Mr. Keating and Mr. Mosby were devoted to their students,
kept them interested by being hilarious, and were genuinely brilliant, which in
turn impacted the lives of their students immensely.
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