When I went back to college to attain my teaching certificate, there was one instructor who EVERYBODY in the college of education dreading having. I don’t know if anybody managed to get through the program without having her as an instructor (maybe someone going to teach math or science?).
I was a student at this university in the early 2000s. And I had had instructors at the school who went through the school themselves and had this woman as a professor at one point either in the 80s or even in the 70s. For all I know, she may have even been at the university longer than that. She was old. And she was an incredibly tough grader.
She made students panic. She made students cry. And I’m sure that there were numerous would be teachers who ultimately dropped out of the program because they felt like they couldn’t hack it in her class.
My number finally came up during my final semester in the college of education. In fact, I had her class at the same time that I was doing my student teaching. My timing couldn’t possibly be any worse. Because I was student teaching, I was essentially a full-time teacher . It was one of those situations where I didn’t have the time to waste so I had to bust my butt in her class.
Education is not the filling of a pot, but the lighting of a fire
W. B. Yeats
She was tough. But she wasn’t tough because she was being mean. She was a tough grader because she wanted to push us academically. She wanted us to become better teachers. I remember handing in numerous unit plans and lesson plans that I had written, only to have her turn them back with several pages full of notes, telling me what I needed to improve upon.
The one thing people didn’t realize or remember about this teacher is that She always gave her students a chance to fix their assignments and resubmit them for a better grade. I took her up on this offer.
There were times that I would be finishing assignments after hours. She worked at her local church in town late nights. So I would find myself driving through the middle of Detroit well after hours dropping off unit plans that I had created into a church after hours deposit box.
My university was one of the last in my state that still require teachers to submit a “teaching portfolio“ at the end of this course. As this was still early on in the age of the Internet, I decided to make mine an online portfolio. When I presented it at the end of the course, I got a an A. I pass the course and eventually got passing marks during my student teaching program as well.
Fast forward 10 years when I had returned to Michigan and had to take a few refresher courses in order to update my teaching certificate. I had the same professor again. I remember telling her at one of the early class meetings that I had had her 10 years prior. I remember saying:
When I had you the first time, I hated you with the beginning of the semester. But then I realize that you were pushing us to do better work. You made me a better student and you made me a better teacher in the process. So, thank you!“
I was fortunate, and then I was able to “crack the code” on this professor, the first time that I had her. As I mentioned before, there were a lot of students who simply didn’t get it and ended up giving up on their dream of becoming a teacher.
This instructor quite literally made me the teacher that I am today. She lit a proverbial fire underneath me and instilled me a work ethic very late in my academic career; one that I didn’t think I was capable of. I was lucky enough to work with one of her granddaughters for a short time. This instructor was a fixture in the educational community in the city of Detroit. Quite frankly, I’m a better person for having her as an instructor.
Who is one person who had a positive effect on your life?
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:
- Thoughts that keep me up at night
- Requiem for a mall
- what makes a great teacher
- The O.R. Virgin
- A Day in the Life of Rob
The article “the lighting of a fire“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
Rebuilding Rob 
Leave a comment