A Teacher’s Impact: Teachers and their way of teaching has a huge affect on students and their motivation for school.

Walking into Corinth Elementary school on an early Friday morning as a kindergartner, I immediately loved school — playing with “magic” sand and beating my friends in a race across the monkey bars. 

Through my elementary years, I strongly felt the majority of teachers I encountered truly loved their job. Singing the ABCs, taking rocket math quizzes and running the pacer test, I never thought to myself, “They don’t want to be here.” 

However, as I got older I began to see more teachers who seemed to care less for student relationships. Whether this came from ignorance as a child, or the fact teachers who spend time with immature middle schoolers and trouble-making high schoolers quite frankly don’t feel the need, it became evident that the way teachers form relationships with their students fully impacts the students’ learning experiences.

If I have a teacher who greets me when I walk in, asks me how my day is going — sincerely — and tries their best to keep me from yawning, the likelihood of me looking forward to that class and participating is much higher.

On the other end, if I have a teacher who glares past me and my classmates, purely lectures and assigns homework or makes me feel stupid everytime I a question, I grow to dread attending that class. Plummeting my grades in Skyward. 

Teachers should also remember what it’s like to be in the student’s shoes. Yes, I know not assigning homework for most classes is unrealistic. Yet, I do think when teachers assign a 50-problem homework packet, they forget they used to groan and roll their eyes at their own assignments as a teenager.

This year, I walked in on the first day, greeted by a big smile by one of my teachers. The energy in her fifth-floor room told me immediately this would be one of my favorite classrooms my junior year. She told us that she knows how stressful high school is, especially with junior year being known as the “BIG” year. She explained we need to be transparent and put ourselves and our mental health first, and she would be there to help. And I haven’t forgotten it. 

A teacher like that is a great example of one who makes an impact — for the better — and makes me want to come to their class, on time, with work done and genuinely excited to learn as a student. And that’s how it should be.