What did your child's best K-12 teachers do that distinguished them?

UrbanGardener · August 11, 2012, 8:32am

In DS’s case, four teachers come to mind.

The first was a fifth-grade gifted math teacher who aimed her initial instruction at the tippy top of the class, then backtracked as needed (including after school) to help those who needed reinforcement. She also integrated a large amount of supplementary materials, especially brain teasers, into her lesson plans. DS was always challenged, and although sometimes frustrated by the difficulty of a particular problem, learned to accept temporary frustration as part of the discovery process.

The second was an eighth-grade Spanish 2 teacher, who not only conducted the class entirely in Spanish—very much in vogue as an instructional method—but also had the students write out page after page of verb conjugations. As a foreign language prof myself (different language), I know that kind of mechanistic approach went out in the 1950’s, but in DS’s case, it was incredibly effective. He learned his conjugations and tenses cold, and, when it came time to speak, the patterns engraved by his hand were echoed flawlessly by his tongue.

The third was an AP Euro teacher who had the gall to require that students take written—not computer-typed—notes on their textbook and all ancillary materials. She then quizzed the students mercilessly on the content; no student dared to show up for class unprepared. Beyond this, she had the students begin writing DBQs early in the year, and corrected them for form—grammar and composition—as well as for content. DS learned more about writing in this course than he did in any English course, including APs.

The last—DS’s calculus teacher—took an entirely different approach: unlike the history teacher, he never collected the homework he assigned. Instead, he treated the students as if they were already in college, explaining that the problem sets were designed both to reinforce what he had taught and to challenge them to learn the material well enough to pass the AP exam with ease. He expected them to ask questions about any difficulties they had encountered. The students—DS included—were delighted to be treated as adults responsible for their own performance, and responded by doing the problems, consulting each other when they couldn’t understand a concept, and seeking the teacher’s help when needed.

Four teachers, four approaches, all effective in my view.

zoosermom · August 11, 2012, 9:06am

My kids in public schools have had the most amazing teachers. I can only point to one who didn’t enrich their education. She was a very elderly woman in poor health who should have retired years ago. The physical act of teaching a class of 12 year olds was too much for her.

My D was an IB student and her teachers were motivated, creative and truly expert in their fields. One was the biology teacher, who had been a research scientist before turning to teaching. She made her labs something incredible and gave her students a very valuable skill set with regard to conducting experiments and working in a lab.

Another was a male English teacher. She hadn’t had many male teachers and his persective was very valuable. He chose a very varied and ambitious curriculum and brought a totally different point of view to literature and had very different and tough expectations to writing. The cool thing about him was that he made very high demands of boys in the class and made them full participants.

She had a history teacher who had been a CIA agent before starting a family with her wife and deciding to teach. She had incredible credentials, had traveled the world and knew US history as well as any teacher possibly could. My daughter’s career path includes history and they are still in touch. This teacher got to know her kids and always kept their strengths and interests in mind. Her classes were very specific and unique. My D cried like a baby she left this teacher, and my D is not known to be warm and mushy.

My son just finished middle school and we have chosen to move him to a private school because he needs a litttle more hand holding than my D, but his teachers have been quite wonderful. The common thread that ties their excellence is, I think, demeanor and engagement. These teachers communicate with students and parents online, they don’t expect 11-12-13 year old kids to be fully cooked, but accept the challenge of helping the kids to build the skills to get there. They provide excellent content-based education, but also hold the kids accountable for their behavior and work product, while understanding that they ARE still very young and that their ordinary mistakes shouldn’t carry permanent consequences. The one regret that I have is that he didn’t have more male teachers. In fact he had none, ever, for academic subjects. I think boys at that age, particularly inner city boys who may have no adult males in their lives, could benefit hugely from a male teaching style and the opportunity to see what is possible, and to understand what is normal at their age.

soccergurl7988 · August 11, 2012, 9:13am

Not my child’s, obviously, but from my own experiences:

I had a rather unconventional 5th grade (gifted and talented program) teacher that none of us ever forget. Outside of math, I don’t think we learned anything ‘traditionally’ all year. She had us divide up into groups and we’d have to turn our corner/section of the room into a life-sized diorama, basically. When we read Pushcart Wars, we turned our 10 desks into the city, complete with buildings, people, and scenes from the book. She had each group pick a war and we had to build something significant to that. She also played the accordion and was about 90 then, but that’s beside the point. Definitely noncomformist.

My AP English teacher taught us/refined us as writers and I still write better than 95% of the kids I went to UG and grad school with. She had us do a whole variety of things for every book, from writing poetry to essays to AP prompts to term papers. Then, at the end of the year, we had to combine everything we’d done the whole year into a portfolio, themed after what we chose. Mine was themed after CSI, complete with blood spattered title pages, mug shot, and sealed crime scene tape.

Finally, my AP chem teacher really challenged us to do our best. I know for me (even though I became a STEM major in college), AP Chem was too fast-paced at the time to really understand everything, and she accommodated us with extra help and other activities. After I did poorly on a test, she allowed me to build TNT out of toothpicks, gumdrops, and marshmallows for extra credit. She challenged us to do an ‘unknowns’ lab, something which I did again in freshman and organic chem labs. She also encouraged us to do additional labs if we finished the normal ones early, as well as did cool demos. She also owned a baseball sized Neodymium magnet that we used to hang desks from the door frame :)

frazzled1 · August 11, 2012, 9:33am

I just asked my d3 to name the 4 best teachers she had in K-12. She said - “Oh, that’s hard. Can I name more?”

Two of my kids had the same 4th grade teacher for every core subject; one had him for math only. I think he was the best public school teacher, at every grade level, that any of my kids ever had. He had 30 years’ experience, yet every year he almost completely revamped his materials and lesson plans (as he said, for the fun of it). He appreciated that different kids learn differently, and took that into account both in teaching and evaluating them. My kids loved going to school every day and talked about him, and the material he taught, every evening.

D3’s APUSH teacher may not have known how to think inside the box. He taught the class backwards (because, as he said, history is not a neat linear story). The first 5 chapters in the text were assigned over the summer; then the class read a chapter a week, working their way backwards through the book. Tons of work - a quiz on the facts of each chapter every Monday; discussion of each chapter Tuesday-Thursday, with outlines required for 5 essay topics for Friday’s essay test; then each class wrote an exam on only one of those 5 topics. Debates, papers, etc. And this guy had phenomenal exam results (all students were required to take the AP exam) - over his career, something like 75 percent 5s, a handful of 3s, and no 2s until the year after my d took the class (would not have liked to be that kid).

The AP English teachers in our school were both exceptional, and skillfully increased the students’ understanding of how to analyze literature and what did/did not constitute college-level writing. Extensive writing assignments, with several drafts required - and the teacher comments on each paper were extensive, as well. They addressed the students as if they were adults, and even the very best papers bore lengthy comments about how they could be improved.

MY d1’s 4th grade teacher was a last-minute substitute who had retired the year before and agreed to come back only if given extensive leeway on how to teach writing. From day 1, she taught structure and vocabulary above all else, and even in certain math and science assignments, stressed the need for clear and consistent writing. I was amazed that 4th graders could write so well.

I could write more but I’m about to be late for something. Thanks, UrbanGardener, for starting this thread.

tom1944 · August 11, 2012, 9:42am

My D will start teaching in September. Please keep these stories coming I want to share them with her.

lake42ks · August 11, 2012, 9:45am

“What did your child’s best K-12 teachers do that distinguished them?”

This question makes me realize that I was not as involved as you guys or as I should have. I didn’t know what was going on in classrooms. I was happy to send kids on to the bus and then looked at their grade reports. Thinking back, some K-2 teachers were nice, allowing my kids to go on their paces and let them correct their own mistakes.

Mom2M · August 11, 2012, 9:45am

D’s 4th and 5th grade teachers were amazing. One focused more on math and science, the other on humanities and social studies, but they had worked in the same school for decades and really worked together. Those two years were wonderful.

Her IB teachers in high school were excellent. Especially the TOK, AP Euro and English. They pushed the kids to learn, but some how made it fun. The AP Euro (sophomore yr) teacher had them prepared and calm, with great results. The IB English teachers really taught them how to write, in a variety of formats.

gaelicbred · August 11, 2012, 10:14am

As a veteran elementary school teacher, I’d like to thank OP for starting this thread and for all of you who contribute positive accounts. So many of us are hardworking, dedicated, intelligent people who care deeply about students.

tom1944 · August 11, 2012, 10:14am

Did their English teachers stress grammar? Diagraming sentences etc?

3bm103 · August 11, 2012, 10:30am

THe first great teacher I can think of was my sixth grade math teacher. I was always fairly good in math but he made me love it. Played math games that I remember to this day and played with my kids when they were young. My youngest majored in math and is doing his P:hD in engineering.

The next great teacher was the one all three kids had for fifth grade. Although all are as different as can be, this teacher was great for all of them. Found what each needed and did that with them. Brought out the best in each.

DrGoogle · August 11, 2012, 10:32am

My child went to a small private like elementary/middle school. She learned how to structure the essay from the 1st grade teacher that still sticks today and she learned to love science from her 5,6th grade science teachers. It has been downhill since she got into this big high school where most science teachers are just awful. However, she has had good luck with all her math teachers, hence she loves math.

travelnut · August 11, 2012, 10:41am

I love this question.

Our kids enjoyed many excellent teachers and some of the most important traits they displayed were:

-passion with regards to both the relevant subjects and their individual students
-curiosity about what made each kid tick and a willingness to use the information this gained constructively and creatively
-personal character and maturity
-ability to convey this genuine interest to their students and therefore become inspirations and role models
-ability to appeal to the best and most mature part of students, especially at the high school level, creating mutual respect and enhancing accountability

intelligence and ability to think outside the box
-willingness to cultivate a positive sense of community within their classroom
-viewed parents as allies in the process of education as was appropriate for the age
-empowered students to “own” their educational process and self-advocate
-believed in each student’s potential and embraced the chance to help them reach their goals

It is a pleasure to celebrate those who made so much possible for our family.

-

zoosermom · August 11, 2012, 10:53am

tom, if I could tell your daughter one thing from a parent (and I’ve told my own D the same) please communicate with parents. In a perfect world, kids would bring everything home and pass along messages in a timely and accurate fashion, but since most kids aren’t perfect, at least before high school, communication is often garbled or delayed.

This past year, my kid’s teachers used engrade.com, which had a message feature, a calendar feature, and some other stuff. Being able to know what was going on saved my family immeasurable stress. I was also able to communicate with his teachers when there was a problem earlier in the year and they got back to me with advice right away. I didn’t have to delay resolution and I didn’t have to take off from work.

I absolutely hate the POV from some educators that kids should always be resonsible for handling everything and parents shouldn’t be involved. When kids are younger, parents should be partners and should be considered. If parents are fighting with kids and flyng blind because teachers won’t communicate directly with parents, then the kid isn’t getting the best education and the teacher is actually causing harm in the home.

I’m very glad that my son’s teachers were all about understanding the midde school aged kid and helping him mature in the right way.

lake42ks · August 11, 2012, 11:05am

Tom - Start your own thread asking for advice for your D. I bet there will tons. One thing I’d say is that if there were only $1 for education, I’d put it in K-2.

Yes. And know if you have their first kid. Parents have unrealistic expectations of teachers for their firsts.

DrGoogle · August 11, 2012, 11:07am

I would put them in before high school to start the good habit. Once you get to high school, it assumed that you know the grammars already, it’s not going to be covered again.

paying3tuitions · August 11, 2012, 11:08am

D’s First Grade Teacher involved her own family in the classroom of a public school. I doubt she thought about the message to students. More likely, she was just pulling in the available free resources to enrich her classroom program.

The message was that learning is an all-family pleasure, so that First Grade echoed our own home life. Instead of a cold “bump” between home and school, D experienced a daily transition from one family-strong setting to another.

Specifically: the teacher’s mother wrote and illustrated children’s books, and came in monthly to field-test characters and new storylines in the classroom. In the course of a school year, D saw stories change with editing, came to know a “real author” and became a wonderful writer herself.

The teacher’s husband was a carpenter. She had him build a huge ship in the center of the room that was her classroom library. He built racks to display books at child’s height, and benches inside the ship. It was magical, and put reading at the physical and emotional center of the classroom.

stradmom · August 11, 2012, 11:12am

The very best teachers made the effort to get to know - and appreciate - each child for who they were at that time. This could be challenging in some instances. But their effectiveness had less to do with specific pedagogical techniques and was more about making a human connection.

kelsmom · August 11, 2012, 11:31am

My kids’ kindergarten teacher was a warm, wonderful woman who set up her classroom in a way that challenged each student at his/her own level, provided a wide choice of play to appeal to all students, encouraged responsibility (such as teaching students to cut with real knives when cooking), and celebrated each child’s accomplishments. She was phenomenal. She had lots of parent help in the classroom, and she used them well so that there were education centers that really worked. The district decided teachers couldn’t stay in the same grade … they needed to mix it up … so this amazing teacher decided to retire. She told us she is a kindergarten teacher. Such a loss for students.

The kids’ 3rd grade teacher was not a warm, fuzzy teacher. However, she challenged them to be their best. The kids wanted to rise to the level of her expectations. D had a huge problem with fearing failure. This teacher took her farther and farther … so that D could struggle and discover that it is okay to struggle. It didn’t cure D’s perfectionist issues, but it definitely helped. S discovered that he can do so much more than he thought he could academically. It was such a great year for both.

The kids’ 4th grade teacher was great academically, but her most awesome talent was helping her students get along with each other. She established a classroom in which no teasing or nastiness was allowed, which other teachers also did … but somehow, she did it better than any other teacher I have ever met. She also provided excellent reading materials, and S discovered a true passion for reading in her class.

So many great teachers in my kids’ lives! The only less-than-bright spot was D’s middle school experience. The teachers simply did not expect enough, and they weren’t very good at keeping the middle school meanness at bay. S went to a parochial middle school where the academic expectations were much higher, and the kids were expected to treat each other with respect.

mathmom · August 11, 2012, 11:50am

Mathson: Really had a bunch of teachers who really got him. His Pre-K teacher who told me he was gifted and used to give him words and math problems when other kids in circle time had letters and numbers. He’d come home gleefully chortling “Mrs. Curley tried to trick me!” His first grade teacher fought with our principal and finally got a double skip into 3rd grade math. Kudos to the 3rd grade teacher as well, who made the arrangement work. Later when he was in 3rd grade, his teacher let him write computer programs and work ahead from a different math book. His freshman physics teacher who recommended him for various Saturday enrichment science programs.

For S2: Second grade teacher who got every kid in the class reading above grade level. He loved American history and when his kids came to Reading is Fundamental every year kids came looking for books on the subject. He was the most low key guy imaginable - you’d never tag him for a wonderful teacher until you observed his class. 4th grade gifted teacher was wonderful too. She had the kids reading Poe’s The Raven - the entire class got so excited about it, they ended up reading the whole poem (not the original intention). They fiercely debated the meaning of it, with kids sure Lenore wasn’t dead! They ended up having a much longer poetry unit with all the kids writing poems. There was a districtwide poetry festival that spring that many kids participated in. Then there was the pre-calc teacher who finished the curriculum and taught them all calculus - the final exam was the AP Math AB exam. He actually appreciated that my son thought like a mathematician even though he forgot formulas and often ran out of time on exams. (He was busy deriving everything from first principles!) My son adored him, and math is really not his strong suit. AP Euro teacher was great he taught what he wanted, while also getting everyone well prepared for the exam. One of their papers was an art history type painting critique. He had them write a lot, not just DBQs but several longer research papers.

frazzled, that teacher who taught history backwards sounds so interesting!

My favorite teacher was a high school teacher I had twice. She let a small group of us with scheduling issues study the Middle Ages instead of Ancient History which we had all had multiple times before. That’s where I learned that there were disputes about when the Middle Ages even started. When she later agreed to teach us a year of British history, she insisted we take a few weeks off to learn about Ireland so that we could understand The Troubles.

SportsMama · August 11, 2012, 11:50am

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I am a teacher and each year I set goals in which I try to improve certain aspects of my teaching. I love hearing the perspective of parents (and students). Hmmm . . . maybe I should ask my parents what is important to them.

Keep those responses coming!

What did your child's best K-12 teachers do that distinguished them?

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