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I have been blessed to be raised in a family of educators. My maternal grandmother, maternal uncle and mom have all been educators. I have also experienced great teachers and ones that were not very proficient. A teacher’s role is simple yet one of the hardest and least appreciated jobs. It is to educate and encourage a student. I am going to give a few examples of how important a teacher can influence a student. I went to a private all boys school starting in the 7th grade and I came from a rural area where the schools were not very good. My first year I struggled to keep up with the pace and I nearly failed out of the school. It seemed like everything was moving faster than I could keep up. My English teacher was a man named Bill Boyd and after I had failed the fourth or fifth test in a row, he saw how dejected I had become. I had made a 65 on the test and he said to me “I am prouder of your 65 than I am the 90’s because I know where you started, and I know you are getting better. Don’t give up. I’m not.” His words motivated me, and he showed me what being a teacher was about. The second teacher was also at this school and the same year. She started a study group for the students who were falling behind and struggling. She formed the group in front of our classmates in a study hall. Next, she proceeded to tell me in front of other students that “I don’t think you are smart enough to be here.” As helpful as Mr. Boyd was, she was the opposite. She made me doubt myself and my intellect. She destroyed any confidence I had been building. The third teacher I had taught music and his name is Lew Cisto. He was also at my middle and high school. I could sing and he saw the talent I possessed. He never berated a student and always worked with them. When he had a strong singer, they would not be seated next to their friends but next to a weaker singer who could listen to the correct singer and learn by ear how to sound. He saw inherent good in any student who came to his class and his love of his subject emanated to his students. I had many teachers at that school work with me and it was not always easy. I did end up staying in school and I got my high school diploma. I then got my bachelor’s degree and my doctorate. I have never had any school that was harder than the overall experience I had there. What is the role of a teacher? A teacher is not only an educator but an individual who sees the good in a student and tries to pull that out of them. A teacher finds a hidden talent and helps that student recognize it, nurture it and then make it flourish. A teacher’s job does not end when the bell rings or classes are over. It is a lifestyle like being a police officer, doctor or attorney. A teacher loves to see recognition dawn on a students’ face and embodies the idea of taking time out to help a student who is struggling. That is the role of a teacher.
