Essay On Being A Teacher

Memories of our teachers are usually a stark binary— either good or bad. However, regardless of being either positive or negative recollections, these stories influence our self-image as children, shape us as learners, and stay with us into adulthood. Carl Jung offers insight into the memory of teachers, he says when "one looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings . . . warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” Jung 's observation captures the essence of being a compassionate teacher, which likewise echoes the recommendations put forth by Schissel and Wortherspoon 's study as well as, Tasha Riley 's research in which both pieces focus …show more content…
In particular, Riley (2012) investigates "what factors influence how teachers assign pupils to different opportunities" and "what reasons . . . teachers give for these recommendations. . ." (p. 304). To begin, Riley explains, using the research of her colleagues that teacher 's "attributions and stereotypes" are significant factors to consider in relationship to FNMI students ' success and completion of high school because negative perception of these students held by teachers can lead to low self-esteem. Furthermore, Riley (2012) goes on to rationalize that "if a teacher has low expectations for a student and decides to place the student in a remedial classroom for one year, the student may find it difficult to move out of the placement for the remainder of their school career" (p. 305). This assertion, though written with a tenor of restraint, captures the root of a well-documented psychological phenomenon known as a stereotype threat. Lilienfeld et al. (2009) articulate this occurrence as "a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which those who are anxious about confirming a negative stereotype actually increase their likelihood of doing so" (p.) because of an imposed sense of incompetence placed on them by society and authority figures (teachers). In Riley 's study, where 24 teachers choose the track level of 21 fictional students based on only their previous grades and ethnicity, she found that most teachers struggled with the notion of placing FNMI students in regular or advanced classes. With only a couple exceptions, the teachers based their decision not on the child 's grade but rather on the teacher 's preconceived view of the student 's biological capabilities and/or because of their assumption of the home lives of these students. Assumption and notions of a person 's capabilities based solely on one