The thin line between like and dislike

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

Have you ever started liking someone who you previously disliked?

I’m sure I can think of a few other examples of people whom I’ve originally disliked, only for me to like them as I got to know them.

One that comes to mind in particular was a professor while I was in the school of education in college. Everyone in the program knew who she was. Even those who weren’t going to teach anything English/ELA/ELL related had heard her name and were afraid of her. For those of us who weren’t planning to teach English, all roads to a teaching certificate went through Dr Tilles.

This was the early 2000s, and apparently dr Tilles has been there since at least the 70s. Heck, I have professors in campus who had her as an instructor. So it’s not an exaggeration to say they she was something of an institution herself

Finally, I had her class, during my final semester in the program; at a time in which I was already student teaching. Just my luck, I remember thinking. Hardest teacher, toughest class; all while I’m student teaching all day…

How hard could her class be? I asked myself. This far, the college of education had been relatively easy for me. It was more about the education theory and teaching methods; rather than focusing on my content area.

I would find out that in the case of Dr. Tilles, she made you work. She made you bust your butt. I had multiple assignments that I turned in multiple times to get a better grade. Every time I turned in a lesson plan that I put together, she would constantly give me feedback and I would continue to turn it in until I got a high enough grade. dr. Tillis pushed us because she wanted to bring out the absolute best in us as students and as would-be teachers.

As teacher training, this was a class in which we were assigned to make multiple lesson plans and unit plans. We had to write learning targets and objectives, and we had to site state education, educational standards with that our unit would be addressing. We were to provide detailed list of supplies needed timing of the lesson duration of the unit, things of that sort.

I recall, after turning in my first unit in getting a really rough grade, I was stunned to see certain students in the class actually seem to like Dr. Tilles. They were vocal in class. They were active and they were smiling. There’s no way I’m doing worse than all of these students are, I thought to myself

I was frustrated, but I continued to push through in the class. I would hand in unit plans, and I would get feedback; and then I would resubmit it for a higher grade, constantly taking Dr. Tillis’s feedback and consideration. There were even a couple of occasions where I had to turn an assignment in late on a weekend so I went up to the church where she actually volunteered at night.

One day, I can’t remember when. I don’t know if this was during a meeting at her office or just talking to her after class or even at one of the church drop offs; but one day we had a conversation and she explained to me that she wanted us to be able to create unit plans that we could use as teachers; units that we could take into a classroom anywhere in the country and they would be perfect.

Having that conversation with Dr. Tilles shattered all of the perceptions I had of her as a professor at this university. It’s squashed any myth or antidote about how she was this incredibly hard teacher and she was just there to fail people. It wasn’t that Dr. Tillis was there to fail people. It’s that she was there to bring out the absolute best of us. And, maybe, make some people realize it they either word cut out for or didn’t really want to become teachers.

I had done it. I cracked the code on Dr. Tilles. At the end of the semester, I had to submit a “teaching portfolio“ upon completion of the college of education program. now, admittedly, teaching portfolios, were something of an outdated practice, with my university being one of the holdouts. I had decided to create a electronic portfolio, which I submitted. Dr. Tilles happened to be one of the three professors who was there to evaluate. At this point, that was a good feeling because I knew that Dr. Tillis had my back. I had explained to her my intentions of treating an electronic teaching portfolio and she gave me all kinds of wonderful feedback on the subject.

Fast-forward about 10 years, and I am back in Michigan trying to get my teaching certificate updated. I returned to Wayne State and I ended up having Dr. Tilles once again as a professor. I told her on the first night of class “I hated you at the beginning of the semester when I first had you. But then I realized what you were trying to do. You made me a better teacher and a better student. So I want to thank you”.

At this point, I was one of the students who was being very vocal and interacting and laughing. I’m sure there are other people in my class this time who thought I was one of the people who had “drink the Dr. Tilles Kool-Aid“ – just as I thought that doesn’t or so students in my class 10 years ago were. Maybe I was.

Dr. Tilles was a great example and tough love. It’s interesting to me that it took to the very end of my educational career, at least at that point, for me to learn this lesson. Teachers will push you because they see something in you and they want to see you live up to your full potential.

Dr. Tilles since passed on. I mean, let’s face it, she was out in advanced age, even when I was in college 20 years ago. The interesting thing is I met a co-worker who is her niece or grand niece when I was teaching in Detroit. Obviously, that’s family, but that says nothing about the legacy that Dr. Tilles had upon teachers in this area.

I think it’s a hope of every teacher that they leave some kind of lasting impression of how their students. And what does that say about professors who teach in a college of education, or our “teacher teachers”? A professor like Dr. Tillis probably taught hundreds, if not, thousands of students in the college of education. In turn those teachers went on to leave an impression upon students themselves. Talk about paying it forward…

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:

The article “the thin line between like and dislike“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob

The thin line between like and dislike ￼

Have you ever started liking someone who you previously disliked?

Share this: