Building the Perfect Teacher

School takes up over nine years of our lives, and naturally, we go through many teachers in the process of graduating, receiving certificates, or degrees, so what if we could minimize the sleepless nights filled with studying by having the perfect teacher? Just think, instead of feeling bored in class you took in the information and made sense. Classwork didn’t feel pointless, lectures wouldn’t lull you to sleep, and the material actually made sense to the point you didn’t have to cheat on homework and tests.

Starting with a teacher’s attitude. The teacher’s energy and attitude towards the class can make or break a day of school. Kris Deakins says “Yes [in regards to teacherś energy], because if a teacher is more on edge or acting more rude, it doesn’t matter how good the material is it will bring the entire mood of the classroom down and make you feel like you had a crappy day.”

Lillian Deveze agrees with Deakins. She knows that teachers are people too, who have bad days and respects that, but it still messes with the atmosphere of the classroom. “Well they are all people, and just because they are in a position where they have power over you doesn’t mean that you guys are necessarily gonna mesh well,” says Deveze.

But their attitude doesn’t necessarily mean their personality. As Deveze pointed out, people will have bad days, but an overall enjoyable personality can make all the difference. Bozrin Porter, a junior,  says “It does affect the lesson because it values the teachers’ energy and creativity through each generation to give kids a positive learning experience.”

Well everyone has bad days, and it’s not like we can prevent them, so what if we put an effort into recognizing those days, for both students and teachers. “On days when a teacher is having a down day, they can have us watch a video or take notes,” suggests Deveze, “they can try to understand their students, and not necessarily see them as students but see them as people who are here to learn and give them all the resources they need to do that.” Deveze wants teachers to stop looking at their students as students but as actual individuals, and maybe by getting rid of any misconceptions of power students and teachers will build a decant relationship of trust and respect.

Deakins’ perfect teacher is one who upholds genuine respect towards their students, one who is open to helping people when they need it, and overall quite realistic. Deveze wants something similar, but not the teacher themselves, but the methods and tools they use to teach. “People are more complex than that,” explains Deveze, “so there wouldn’t be an ideal teacher but an ideal way for everyone to use their tools.” She knows that what method may be ideal for one teacher, may not be the case for another. Deveze wants not the person or the method to be perfect, since the concept of being perfect is fictional, but rather the use of the tools and the access students have to it.

As for Porter, he already found someone who almost hits the mark. “They are the best music teacher I could ever ask for in my years of music, strict but fair and fun. You don’t see that in teachers now a day, but yeah, they are close to the perfect teacher mark.” What he liked in that one teacher and sees in his vision of a perfect teacher is someone who consists of energy, fair play, and creativity for the class. It could be the way they structure their lesson plans so there is a healthy balance of workload and enough structure for those who were absent to easily find their way back on track. “My perfect teacher would also have to be a mux of fun and relaxation as well as always bringing fresh ideas to the classroom.” 

Fantasy does have its ways of melting into reality, it’s all a matter of time, cooperation, and change. So how can the teachers of San Dimas High School meet the standard of perfection set by the students of SDHS? “Maybe something like a visual example of what you need to do because most teachers don’t really do it, and also a more in-depth explanation of instructions,” says Deakins. He feels like the delivery of instruction could be better because without a clear idea of what strategy to use, could lead to miscommunication and a wrong idea of the task at hand.

Deveze just wants better lighting, not frigid classrooms, and a decrease in cheesy motivational posters. ” I don’t like it when teachers have a lot of posters, ’cause they feel kind of demoting to me,” explains Deveze,  “their like oh you can do it, and it’s a little more genuine to just tell someone that or write a little note on their work rather than putting up a poster to the general public.” Aside from the classroom decor and temp, Deveze wouldn’t mind homework, just as long as she was taught the lesson in class. “For me, I do well with doing the work at home or after school, as long as I’m learning the material at school,” says Deveze.

Porter focuses more on the timing of the lessons. Not too long that it becomes boring and repetitive, but just long enough for those behind to catch up and not be overwhelmed by the upcoming topics. “Teachers can try to be more open, expressive, and understanding with work and lesson plans, so they don’t go so far ahead and leave those who are taking a little longer behind.”

Aside from strategy, what would the ideal workload look like? The bare minimum? Lots of classwork and no homework? Or in Deveze’s case, not so much work in class but a few pages to do at home. “I don’t mind if there is a lot of homework as long as we learn most of the content in the classroom,” admits Deveze.

Deakins has a slightly different approach, “ I like easy days, but it is also good to have the work be specific so I know what I’m doing so I can continue on with the lesson without getting stuck.” Both agree that the workload should be lighter or more manageable, as well as fully taught in class instead of filling the time with unnecessary busywork.

So far the ideal teacher is someone who cares for their students, sees them as people and not part of the job, has a relatively comfy classroom, and manageable workload Teachers can incorporate new or old methods into their teaching style to make the lesson easier to understand as well as engaging. “I think more work would be done in general, and I’m not saying that every student will do their work, but if teachers were more of the ideal type I feel like people would be able to tolerate it and do the work because they stop seeing it as busy work or important to their grade,” explains Deakins. He has a feeling that if the teachers change just a bit, so will the students.

But what if the problem isn’t the teacher, but the system they work in. Deveze feels like the system in which we are taught is constructed in a way that works for some not all. “The system is set up so it works really well if you absorb information that way, but some people are more visual or tactile learners,” says Deveze, “for those who learn visually, they would have to look up their own pictures, which takes more time. And for those who are more tactile, they would have to ask their teacher if they could do an experiment, which adds another level of stress because they may have anxiety to talk to the teacher or no time to do it at home.”

If the system is part of the problem, and expectations for teachers become harder to achieve, what can be done? Well for starters, we can drop the word perfect because it’s already unachievable. “There is no such thing as the perfect teacher, the only thing they can do is strive to be perfect in the sense that they are putting forth their best possible effort for the kids,” says Porter. He knows that by doing our best, we can change the idea of perfect into a more realistic standard that still benefits the community as a whole. The system and those who work for it will have to adapt to keep up with the times. To incorporate new knowledge and take note of how each generation responds to the methods.

Overall the perfect teacher, at least for this school, is somewhat realistic. With some upgrades to the system, and bringing back the element of fun, school could be not only more enjoyable but also beneficial. By treating each other with respect, using new methods to teach, and making the work engaging rather than overwhelming, maybe then the idea of a not perfect, but better version of teaching will finally become a reality.