A Look Into A Teacher’s Perspective

I got the opportunity to interview a teacher from my school and analyze his life from when he was a student, to his teaching life right now. Most people might not realize what teachers actually do or how much they care about their students and their job. A lot more goes into it than assigning work and grading papers. Teachers become role models, guidance counselors, mediators, and even parental figures to some. It takes a very dedicated and mature person to become a teacher. They have to graduate high school, go to college and get a degree, then go back to school and teach it. It sounds a little bizarre when put that way, but it is a lot of people’s passion and they love doing it. Mr. Anderson’s school and college life did not follow that plan, he did it distinctively and loves his job nonetheless.

Mr. Anderson attended Greely High School. They have approximately 715 kids, so it was a good-sized high school. He said he had a big ego in school and focused a lot more on his status. Luckily school came easy to him and he did very well. He took AP classes and worked hard enough to get good grades without ever really challenging himself. But, he was not just focused on having good grades and looking cool, he also did sports. In high school, he ran cross country and indoor and outdoor track. So, he was pretty successful in high school and thought that whatever he did later in life he would do well because his ego told him so. He knew he wanted to continue his education further, but did not know exactly what his passion was yet.

Anderson figured he would go into finance because he thought he could make a lot of money doing it. He ended up studying at Colgate University (yes, like the toothpaste) which is in upstate New York. After being in finance classes for a while he found out that it was not for him and changed to a history major instead because he enjoyed his history classes. He graduated from Colgate University with a major in history and a minor in finance. After college, he did a few odd jobs traveling and making money in California. He ended up going back to school at 25 and completed a one-year teaching program at USM. The program was just being a student-teacher and getting a feel of the profession and he fell in love with it. 

His first teaching job was working with middle school kids and he said it was a great experience. It made him realize that teaching was for him and that this is what he wanted to do. After working at a middle school he eventually taught high school students and liked it even more. He said that when you’re working with older kids you can relate and talk to them on a higher level. You can tell when some of them have a true interest in what they are learning and that is what teaching is all about. Being a teacher is not all about the subject you teach, it is about working with kids and if you like working with them.

I believe as a student that the best teachers will visualize what it is like to be us in their classroom. Every year Anderson tries to envision what it is like to sit in his classroom and learn what he is teaching because if he cannot enjoy his material, then how is a student going to? Also, Mr. Anderson is a father and thinks that has helped him become a better teacher. It has not necessarily changed the way he teaches, but his perspective. Before he only saw things from his point of view and the students’ but never the parents’. Now that he is a parent himself, he can often relate to them and think about what parents would want their children learning at school. 

Mr. Anderson is a firm believer in being curious. He wants every single person to never stop being interested in different things because that is how you learn. His favorite subject to teach is Academic Decathlon because it is all the subjects in one. He is so invested in this class that every summer he learns new material with the students because he likes the opportunity to gain more knowledge. It is very different from a regular class. All of the students taking the class want to be there and are eager to learn. The class forces the students to step out of their comfort zone and be more curious than usual, otherwise, you will not do as well as other inquisitive students at the competition. Another opportunity he encourages people to do is study abroad. It is a great way to either cure curiosity about other cultures and environments or develop more. He did study abroad his junior year of college and said that it was hugely life-changing. He thinks that it is very important to witness other cultures, so that way you have the perspective of the world around you. 

Towards the end of the interview I asked Mr. Anderson, “If someone could take away anything from this interview what would it be?” and he wants everyone to look at education in a different way than the norm. Most people go through school complaining about certain required classes and questioning if they will ever use them when instead they should be focusing on the opportunities education gives them. Yes, that one math class might be difficult and boring, but the next time you have the chance to take a workshop, music, art, or any class that you are interested in, take advantage of it. Use that time to be curious, because those moments are when you are going to learn the most and enrich your life. He always says, “Continue to be curious, there is always more to learn and grow from.”

Featured image from Creative Commons: “Macro Monday : Teacher: Explore October 24, 2011” by R Joanne is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0