Kaleen C. Polakoff
24 July 2009
ESSAY ON BEING A MASTER TEACHER
For just about as long as I can remember, I wanted to change the world. I first became aware of it in Kindergarten when I befriended a little boy with mental retardation. I thought that if I could be his friend, life would be better for him. Sadly, it did not turn out that way.
I had a fabulous English teacher in High School, Mrs. Andrus. I took Honors English in 10th grade and she had us memorize poetry. One day, a former student came to visit our class. He had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam for four years. He attributed his survival to her having him memorize poetry. He tried to remember the poetry every day that he was a prisoner of war. At that moment, I knew I wanted to change the world and save lives. I wanted to be a teacher.
I wanted to be an English teacher to be more exact, just like Mrs. Andrus. Mrs. Andrus encouraged me to have a few things published in our high school’s newspaper. Never mind that I had attended a small high school, I thought that I could write. My creative writing teacher in college proved me wrong. He told me in no uncertain terms that I was not a writer. I began to think I could write. I am not one to stand and argue a losing argument. I switched into Botany for a major that very day.
While finishing my degree at Brigham Young University, I decided to take a class on how to teach Seminary for my obligatory religion class. I was disappointed to find out that it was only for those that were majoring in secondary education with another major. The other disappointment was that I was female and the Church does not hire female teachers for Released Time Seminary unless they are older with no prospects for marriage or have all of their children raised and gone from their home. I was neither, but they let me stay anyway.
The idea of being a master teacher took hold in that religion class. A master teacher is one that follows the pattern of the Savior in their teaching. The pattern being someone that loves their students, relies on the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and finds ways and methods to inspire their students. It is a pattern of service and sacrifice.
After graduating from BYU, I took a year off and just worked. In the meantime, I received my patriarchal blessing and learned that I am blessed to teach words of wisdom. Originally, I thought that I would just teach in church. I had served as a Primary teacher since I was 16. Then, I was inspired to go back to school and become a teacher of science.
My mentor teacher, Hugh Baird, had a belief that all teachers should be master teachers and he inspired me to focus again on being a master teacher. He broadened my definition of a master teacher: A master teacher is someone who loves their students, cares for their needs, and finds ways to inspire them. A master teacher has discipline and inspires students to discipline. Discipline should bring our students to Christ, whether they believe in him or not. I studied methods of team building, project based learning, and simulations to inspire learning.
I taught school for one year in Texas, was married, and moved to Maryland. I have always felt that my place was in the home. I became a mother of six children and practiced what I had learned at home and at church. I was an at-home mother for 16 years before I had with a financial problem that I could not solve. After much prayer, fasting, and consulting with my bishop, I went back to work as a substitute teacher.
The day I accepted a position to be a mentor at Eagle’s Aerie Schools, they gave me a copy of Oliver DeMille’s Book, A Thomas Jefferson Education, and told that this would be my blueprint for education from then on. When I read A Thomas Jefferson Education, I knew the type of mentor/teacher described in the book was exactly what my mentor teacher at BYU had envisioned for me to become. Once again, my definition of a master teacher broadened. It now included being a mentor and using classics.
At the end of last school year, the new principal came to me with a charge to change my way of being. I needed to speak a little softer and not be so harsh with my students. At that moment, I knew that I had lost sight of some of what used to be my better qualities. In addition, I had lost sight of becoming a master teacher.
I will be working at new employment this summer and the philosophy is not like my old school. I have pondered how I will use this new information in teaching. Because of the book, The Choice, I have changed my way of being. I think I am a little softer and a little kinder than I was at the beginning of summer.
One of the ways to inspire students is to set an example. I have added to the definition of master teacher, someone who is true to their greatness. I know now what it takes to get a great education and by my example, I hope to inspire students to want a great education, whether the new school provides them with an opportunity or not. I will show them that the only education is self-education.
There are so many new things that I have learned that I want to share with my students. I am excited for a new adventure. Since I became a teacher and a mother, I have known that I need to continue with my education. I have taken my children on many adventures in learning and we continue to learn together. I am adding many books to my list for when I am finished with my Masters Degree and I will have time to read them.
My greatest work is in my home and the best place to practice being a master teacher is with my children. I no longer worry about changing the world for the better or whether by being a teacher I will save someone’s life. Through my education, I have already influenced my children. I am so proud of them because with all of their challenges, they are becoming great leaders. They have already shown me what they can do.
Showing posts with label educational blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educational blog. Show all posts
Saturday, August 8, 2009
On Virtue
Kaleen C. Polakoff
1 July 2009
MY ESSAY ON VIRTUE
Repeating over and over in the past few months has been a resounding call to return to virtue. I think that I am a virtuous person; but as I have studied Plato’s Apology and Crito, I have been greatly moved to examine myself. I want to do better and be better than in the past. I look at where I have been and the direction that I am heading. I want to leave a legacy that my children will want to emulate.
At one time, I was a stay-at-home mom. I was into popular fiction and not always the best of books. I watched soap operas in the afternoon. In the evening, I watched the latest crime drama with my husband. I was babysitting and doing a newspaper route to try to make ends meet. I was sinking further and further in debt due to medical bills. My faltering marriage was the worst part of my life.
A classic book changed my life. I picked up Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. I gained a desire to change my life, not by changing others, but by changing me. The first step was to become honest with myself about what I was doing and where I was going. I made a commitment to follow what I feel is my mission—to change the world for the better—through teaching. It took me awhile to get up the courage to go back to school, renew my teaching certificate, and find a full time teaching job.
The next momentous change came when I was hired to teach in a charter school that was trying to adhere to a different set of principles. I was handed A Thomas Jefferson Education written by Oliver Van DeMille. From reading the book, I found a way to become the kind of teacher that I wanted to become. I no longer want to be a teacher, but a mentor.
As I began to pursue a “great education”, my life began to change. Long gone are the days of watching soap operas and reading insignificant books. Every spare moment is filled with Plato, Homer, and Aristotle, filled with thoughts that are new to me, but reach back to antiquity. Again, I ponder “how can these words change my life for the better?”
I am still not out of debt, but I now see living a life of integrity is the only way to get out of debt. I must have the courage to ask hard questions of myself. I must be honest with what I really want and what I really desire. Now, I must do the hard work of living the life that I say I want to live.
I know that it can be done. My father lived such a life. At my father’s funeral, words such as honest, hard-working, self-sacrificing, loving, and a “good man” were used to describe him. Even the way my father approached death—not complaining, not bemoaning his fate, but showing concern for others and giving them pleasant memories—is standard and a legacy that will live on in children and grandchildren. His life was, as Emerson would say, a “benediction.”
My plan for the future is continue reading all of those classic books that I have not gotten to, yet. As part of my plan, I want to instill a love and a desire in my children to pursue a “great education.” I want to instill in them a desire to learn from the “best of books” and find the application to their lives. I hope that they will want a life of virtue. And last of all, I hope they find that I lived a life that was true to my beliefs—one of virtue.
1 July 2009
MY ESSAY ON VIRTUE
Repeating over and over in the past few months has been a resounding call to return to virtue. I think that I am a virtuous person; but as I have studied Plato’s Apology and Crito, I have been greatly moved to examine myself. I want to do better and be better than in the past. I look at where I have been and the direction that I am heading. I want to leave a legacy that my children will want to emulate.
At one time, I was a stay-at-home mom. I was into popular fiction and not always the best of books. I watched soap operas in the afternoon. In the evening, I watched the latest crime drama with my husband. I was babysitting and doing a newspaper route to try to make ends meet. I was sinking further and further in debt due to medical bills. My faltering marriage was the worst part of my life.
A classic book changed my life. I picked up Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. I gained a desire to change my life, not by changing others, but by changing me. The first step was to become honest with myself about what I was doing and where I was going. I made a commitment to follow what I feel is my mission—to change the world for the better—through teaching. It took me awhile to get up the courage to go back to school, renew my teaching certificate, and find a full time teaching job.
The next momentous change came when I was hired to teach in a charter school that was trying to adhere to a different set of principles. I was handed A Thomas Jefferson Education written by Oliver Van DeMille. From reading the book, I found a way to become the kind of teacher that I wanted to become. I no longer want to be a teacher, but a mentor.
As I began to pursue a “great education”, my life began to change. Long gone are the days of watching soap operas and reading insignificant books. Every spare moment is filled with Plato, Homer, and Aristotle, filled with thoughts that are new to me, but reach back to antiquity. Again, I ponder “how can these words change my life for the better?”
I am still not out of debt, but I now see living a life of integrity is the only way to get out of debt. I must have the courage to ask hard questions of myself. I must be honest with what I really want and what I really desire. Now, I must do the hard work of living the life that I say I want to live.
I know that it can be done. My father lived such a life. At my father’s funeral, words such as honest, hard-working, self-sacrificing, loving, and a “good man” were used to describe him. Even the way my father approached death—not complaining, not bemoaning his fate, but showing concern for others and giving them pleasant memories—is standard and a legacy that will live on in children and grandchildren. His life was, as Emerson would say, a “benediction.”
My plan for the future is continue reading all of those classic books that I have not gotten to, yet. As part of my plan, I want to instill a love and a desire in my children to pursue a “great education.” I want to instill in them a desire to learn from the “best of books” and find the application to their lives. I hope that they will want a life of virtue. And last of all, I hope they find that I lived a life that was true to my beliefs—one of virtue.
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