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On the Importance of Competent Educators

One of the most influential components of a student’s life is their educators. Having an exceptional or even competent teacher makes a great difference; as does having a poor teacher. Mrs. Umbridge and Mr. Smith both worked in the history field at the same high school. Both were expected to give the students a valuable educational experience and prepare them for Advanced Placement testing. Mr. Smith successfully filled this expectation, while Mrs. Umbridge created an environment of frustration and left her students feeling ignorant and unprepared. This was partially due to their personal styles and motivation for teaching, but the most important difference was simply that one knew the subject they were teaching and the other did not.

Mrs. Umbridge had been teaching United States history at this high school for over ten years and when the position for 10th grade AP World History teacher came up, the school felt like she would be capable; despite the fact that she had no experience teaching an AP class or even a world history class. From day one it was clear that she was unprepared for the position. While showing the students the textbook on the first day, she referred to the painting on front saying, “I think this was painted by an asian.” Already the students felt uneasy and had little confidence in her teaching. She continued to display the same level of ignorance throughout the year; most of the time not knowing anymore than the students did. Everyday she showed powerpoint slides, which she did not write herself, and read them word for word. When asked a question, she would either stumble through an unhelpful answer or tell the students to “google it.” As the year progressed, students became increasingly frustrated with the AP test growing ever closer. They did not respect her and had no confidence in her teaching. Often it would be the more knowledgeable students who did most of the teaching. It did not help that she spoke in a condescending manner to her students. A teacher has every right to expect respect from their students; however, many fail to realize that they will not receive it if they do not also respect the students. Mrs. Umbridge’s ill preparedness was not really her fault, having been pushed into the position. If one had not been trying to learn from her, they would have felt sympathy. A couple months into the year, any sympathy they felt for her had been overwhelmed by frustration. Most students had simply given up halfway through the year. Those still hoping to take the AP test did have some hope. A former teacher of AP World History, who now taught spanish at the same school, outside of class. It started as a small group of 3-4 students and grew to include about half of all the students in AP World History. Mrs. Umbridge would often ask him questions concerning history and even try to sit in on study session. She did try to improve her knowledge, but it was not very successful. Her students were also perhaps too hard on her, but the main problem was that she should not have accepted the position. When the AP test came, many opted not to take it and of those that did, very few passed. The students left the class feeling frustrated, ignorant and most of all incredibly grateful that it was over. After this year, she was sent to teach in the PAL program, which is half homeschooled learning, not even retaining her former position teaching United States history. The former teacher who taught the study group is now teaching the AP World History classes.

After spending their sophomore year with Mrs. Umbridge, they students were wary about entering another AP history class their junior year; however, they had heard good things about Mr. Smith so many opted to take his AP United States history class. Mr. Smith was experienced with teaching US history in the AP format. He stood at the front of the class in calm manner that demand respect. From the first day the students knew this would be an entirely different experience. Mr. Smith was incredibly knowledgeable on the subject he taught. There was rarely a question he could not answer and when there was he simply stated that he did not know instead of coming up with a jumbled inconclusive answer. He also used the powerpoint format; however, he did not simply read of the slides. He wrote the slides himself, sometimes including a funny or interesting anecdote. He also elaborated on the information on the slides. They gave us something to write down and review late, but his words provided us with something to learn. He rarely had to tell students to be quiet or pay attention; they were all grateful to be there and valued the information he gave. Those who had also been in Mrs. Umbridge’s class were just relieved to finally have a not only competent, but exceptional teacher. Some would find his lecture style format a little dull, but this method worked for Mr. Smith. He was generally very formal, but also had a great sense of humor for those who were clever enough to listen. His lectures often included sarcasm and perhaps a few bad puns; this made his lectures entertaining as well as interesting. Mrs. Almond would often attempt to be funny, but never really connected with the students.  He expected his students to provide good work, as he provided them with the information to do so. He also invited students to come in after school if they had questions or wanted advice on a project. The students had a great amount of respect for him and in turn he respected his students. He usually called them by “Mr or Ms” and their last name. Mrs. Umbridge saw her students as a group of unruly teenagers, while Mr. Smith saw them as a group of academic minds who were there to learn. The result of this was that Mrs. Umbridge’s students acted like a group of unruly teenagers, while Mr. Smith’s actually acted like students. When it became time to take the AP test in May, most in Mr. Smith’s class felt prepared. Almost everyone took the test and the majority of them passed. Mr. Smith prepared his students well for the test and wanted them to succeed; however, he stated that his main priority was to give them knowledge of history. He loved teaching history and was incredibly good at it. Even those who found his class boring had to admit that they learned more in that class than they had most of their high school career. Mr. Smith continues to educate students on history to this day.

              Those who suffered through Mrs. Umbridge’s and never went on to take Mr. Smith’s missed a great opportunity. For many Mrs. Umbridge destroy any interest they had in history, while Mr. Smith restored it. The most important factor was simply that Mr. Smith knew how to teach the class, while Mrs. Umbridge was unprepared and ignorant on the subject. It was also clear that Mr. Smith enjoyed teaching his class, while it seemed like Mrs. Umbridge was simply trying to get through the year. This was reflected in the mindset of the students as well. Although there are several components that make up a good teacher, the most important is simply that the teacher is knowledgeable on and interested in the subject they teach. This may seem a bit obvious, but there is an alarming amount of teacher who do not seem to know much about what they are teaching. While both experiences were influenced by personal style of the two teachers and other factors, knowledge on the subject was the key difference in the success of the students.