Formal Paper #2 Compare&Contrast

There are many different kinds of teachers, some are good, and some are great and others not so much. I have had my share of experiences with both good teachers and bad teachers. The movies we watched show examples of very good teachers. Mr. Keating from Dead Poets Society is an example of a great teacher; he connects with the students on a personal level and gets them to believe in themselves in a way they never thought to before. In contrast my high school history teacher, Mr. Robinson, was not such a great teacher. He was disconnected from the students of his class and this lead to a big conflict between the students and Mr. Robinson. His teaching style was quite the opposite of Mr. Keating’s in that Mr. Robinson only wanted to teach the curriculum and as the headmaster of Welton says “Prepare them for college, and the rest will take care of itself.”

My junior high school history teacher was an example of a difficult teacher; he was precisely the type of teacher that Mr. Dalton at Walton Prep School would approve of. When I was 15 years old and still an ornery teenager, I walked into Mr. Robinson's eighth period History class on the third floor of Heritage Jr. High. Having been a monastery before it became a school, Heritage was the newest and nicest of the three Jr. Highs in town. Mr. Robinson sat at his huge grey metal desk always wearing a black coloured shirt and khaki trousers. His oversized bright yellow pencil never went unnoticed, sitting at the front of his desk it boasted his name engraved in big bold black letters "Mr. Robinson". His class was held toward the end of the day, there were nine periods in total for a full day of school and Mr. Robinson's lengthy history class was in period eight. As each student drug their feet slugging into the classroom, already weary and worn down from the long day of classes, our first sight was of Mr. Robinson sitting proudly at his desk straight in front of the door. After the students sat down in their chosen seats, each one next to their best friend or favourite classmate, Mr. Robinson made everyone stand up and line shoulder to shoulder against the far wall of the classroom. He then called out each student very official-like, by last name first and first name second. Pointing to a specific faded brown desk in the room directing that each student called must sit there in the exact assigned seat. Once all seats were assigned Mr. Robinson handed out a contract which stated that each individual in the classroom would be responsible for coming to class daily, paying attention, remaining in their assigned seats, taking notes, and keeping quiet; "quiet" having been printed in bold, larger font and underlined. This contract was to be signed, in black ink only, by every student sitting in the classroom. This all was only the first day of class; Mr. Robinson’s lectures were drawn out, lengthy monotone hours of excruciating torture. The moment which stands out to me the most from Mr. Robinson’s class was on a very dark and rainy day, the lights were shut down low and the overhead projector was showing an image of something very historical I’m sure; many students had dozed off for a nice afternoon nap and Mr. Robinson announced in a loud boisterous voice, “if you want to sleep in my class I don’t care, but you better learn to sleep with your eyes open and at least pretend like you’re paying attention.” Mr. Robinson was so disconnected and disengaged that I still to this day view him as a cold, empty robot.

Mr. Keating was quite the opposite of my lackluster history teacher; he was a positive example of a great teacher. Mr. Keating was a great teacher because he was personable, connected with the students and pulled in their attention. When Mr. Keating first entered the classroom he was whistling and walking with a strut, he was happy and proud to be there. He walked straight through the classroom, back out through the other door and poked his head back in and said “well come on”. The students didn’t know what to do; they had never in their academic careers experienced such a strange professor before. Mr. Keating lead the students to the hallway where pictures of past alumni hung behind glass cabinets, he made the students realize that these men could be their possible future. Mr. Keating opened the students eyes to what really lies ahead of them and the choices they have in front of them to decide on who and what they will become “these boys are now fertilizing daffodils…But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.” Seize the day was his advice to the students; in only the first class Mr. Keating took the students outside of the classroom and pulled in their attention leaving them mesmerized and excited to learn. In his vision of what a teacher should be Mr. Keating felt passionately that “the idea of educating was to learn to think for yourself.” I love this point of view because it resonates with me and makes me want to do better for myself. Mr. Keating takes the students outside to the soccer field and tells one of the boys “let it fill your soul”, this shows how he wanted his students to open up and become more than what society demands of them and what it wants to place them in.

Mr. Keating and Mr. Robinson have two very different styles of teaching. While they both managed to get their knowledge, information and desired messages across to their students, one was much more dynamic and effective on the lives of each student. Mr. Robinson’s monotone and lackluster lectures were able to help students pass tests and learn what the curriculum required of them, but it was not conducive to creative thinking or self-enrichment. Mr. Keating however, was very personable and connected with his students; he saw potential in each one that perhaps they had not yet seen in themselves. Mr. Keating’s methods of teaching captivated all the students’ attention and inspired to be more than they originally thought they could be. Mr. Keating was a great teacher because he cared; his passion for teaching allowed him to make learning fun and interesting for all of his students, despite their reservations and inhibitions.

Although there are many types and styles of teaching, some may be more effective than others. The comparison and contrast of both Mr. Robinson and Mr. Keating show that while some styles of teaching allow for a sensible acquisition of scholastic and programed material, others allow for students to break into their own and think for themselves. Students who have teachers like Mr. Keating can make the most of the time that has been given to them; these students can become more than the societal belief of what is successful. My favourite moment from the movie is when Mr. Keating explains the stanza, “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a flying, and this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying." from Robert Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”. Mr. Keating makes it very simple and easy to understand, while inspiring his students at the same time; his translation of Herrick’s poem is simply “Carpe Diem, seize the day.”

mr. Escalante and Mr. Keating

Both are examples of good teaching. Mr. Escalante was determined for his students to pass their final exam and be able to gain AP credit and look forward to college. He wanted the students to have a better chance to get good jobs and become high standing citizens in society. Mr. Escalante wanted the students to make more of their lives.

Mr. Keating was quite different, instead of wanting the students to fit in more and have good grades, he wanted them to learn to think for themselves. He wanted them to become independent of societal labels and the demands that have been put on them by their parents, teachers and society. Mr. Keating wanted his students to become invested in themselves as a whole, not as a future doctor or lawyer as others may want them to be.

Writing like Audre Lorde. Ex.#1 of teahcer #2.

When I was 15 years old and still an ornery teenager, I walked into Mr. Robinson's eighth period History class on the third floor of Heritage Jr. High. Having been a monastery before it became a school, Heritage was the newest and nicest of the three Jr. Highs in town. Mr. Robinson sat at his huge grey metal desk always wearing a black coloured shirt and khaki trousers. His oversized bright yellow pencil never went unnoticed sitting at the front of his desk, it boasted his name engraved in big bold black letters "Mr. Robinson". His class was held toward the end of the day, there were nine periods in total for a full day of school and Mr. Robinson's lengthy history class was in period eight. As each student drug their feet slugging into the classroom, already weary and worn down from the long day of classes, our first sight was of Mr. Robinson sitting proudly at his desk straight in front of the door. After the students sat down in their chosen seats, each one next to their best friend or favourite classmate, Mr. Robinson made everyone stand up and line shoulder to shoulder against the far wall of the classroom. He then called out each student by last name first and first name second, pointing to a specific faded brown desk in the room directing that the student called must sit there in the assigned seat. Once all seats were assigned Mr. Robinson handed out a contract which stated that each individual in the classroom would be responsible for coming to class daily, paying attention, remaining in their assigned seats, taking notes, and keeping quiet; "quiet" having been printed in bold, larger font and underlined. This contract was to be signed, in black ink only, by every student sitting in the classroom.

Education experience

I have yet to choose an educational experience to write about for my paper. I suppose as I write this blog post that I have to choose a topic or this will be one very short post.
I suppose I can discuss the process of how I learned another language. So far I have learned English as my first language, then Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese and now I am in ASL 1 at OC. Learning Spanish took over most of the years of my primary education; I was in a spanish class every year of school from the 3rd grade through graduation. Memorizing seemingly endless lists of vocabulary in the first years of spanish class was a tedious task. There were many quizzes and tests or exams to pass as well. In the 10th grade i grew tired of the repetition and constant ongoings of spanish teachers, I wanted to change languages; French was in my sights. When my guidance counselor told me that I would have to test in to the French class, I decided it wasn't worth the struggle. Who speaks French anyway? Besides the French.........and Canadians.
Once I decided to stay in Spanish language classes I was able to test into the higher level classes offered at my high school. "Advanced placement", high school classes that are worth college credits....only if you're going to college in your own state apparently; those credits helped when I went to my first college in New York, I didn't have to take a language, and was able to do something more "fun", like get a job so I can afford my college text books....fun...
So I was able to place in the "advanced" spanish class; on day one my jaw dropped and my heart stopped. NO ENGLISH, at all! The teacher gave all instruction and assignments in Spanish...Maybe I was in over my head? I decided it would be helpful to spend every afternoon and weekend at my friend's house. Her parents were fresh outta Peru, and spoke little english. I was "immersed", which made it so much more overwhelming, and yet easy at the same time.
Once I got the hang of "Spanish only" I was able to stop translating in my head and dissecting the statements and phrases I heard...I was becoming fluent...and I was finally able to hold a real conversation with my grandmother from Cuba and he had a lot to say.
In practicing Spanish for the majourity of my time, I neglected English, since I was in "advanced placement" classes through most of my jr. high and high school career I was not required to be in an English class after my freshman yr of high school. During high school I was rarely at home, you know high school kids their lives are their friends, and mine was my friend and her Spanish speaking family. On the rare occasion that I was at home for any significant amount of time, I would find myself slipping up and not being able to think in English! uh oh...My mother was frustrated, she only knows english, I had to find a way to allow myself to use both languages. I made a deal with my friend's parents, I would help them with their English if they would help me with my spanish

thesis statement and paragraph

There are many different kinds of teachers, some are good, some are great and some not so much.
I have had my share of experiences with both good teachers and bad teachers. The movies we watched show examples of very good teachers. Mr. Keating from Dead Poets Society is an example of a great teacher, he connects with the students on a personal level. In contrast my high school history teacher, Mr. Robinson, was not such a great teacher. His disconnect from the students of his class lead to a big conflict between the students and Mr. Robinson.

group discussion

In the scene where Jaime storms out of the class he is unable to see beyond his own frustrations and exhaustion to be as effective as he had been in the past. During a class problem the students all came to the same answer; Jaime insisted the answer was wrong and stormed out of the class. This is one of the few instances when Mr. Escalante's teaching was ineffective. We later come to find out that his stress overcame him and led to a heart attack.

Audre Lorde's essay

Audre Lorde has a very charismatic way of illustrating what people are like. Her descriptions of her experience with "Miss Teacher" give the reader a feel for the teacher's personality.

Lorde illustrates Miss Teacher's frightening attitude and lack of understanding by stating, "All of a sudden the air around her hand beside my notebook grew very still and frightening...Her voice was sharp...There was a moment of icy silence, and I knew I had done something terribly wrong...She broke the silence with a wicked edge to her voice."

The way Lorde describes Miss Teacher's tone of voice shows her cruelty toward the child.