NHS Advisory Session: John Jell & what teachers mean

November 8, 2008

After they keynote, the adviser session was run by the Keynote, John Jell.

Do you remember your best teacher ever? Most of us raised our hands. He asked us why, and my answer is “They made me want to be them.” It’s true. I can tell you who they are. I’ve had one for each part of my life. I can’t always remember their names, but I do know. I remember, and I have been able to thank most of them. Mr Morgan, junior English teacher, Mr Budd, my Creative Writing teacher, Karen Anijar, the woman who opened my eyes to the world around me, and Bonnie WIlcox, the woman who gave me the opportunity to become a teacher.

Some of the best teacher memories in the room included being enthusiastic, making education relative, being knowlegable, etc… The worse teachers are the ones who tell you that you aren’t good enough, they tell you, the student, that you are wrong, they don’t care, they pick on kids, and they’re too busy reprimanding the bad ones to have to time to teach the good ones. I know, for me, I honestly have a problem with the last two. My perception is that I don’t pick on kids, but sometimes I am sarcastic and yes, I know, there are students who just don’t get me. Or like me. That kills me. The other is it’s really tough for me to teach a single English 11 period because of several reasons. One reason is because it’s a singleton, and I feel like I need to plan more for the class I teach the most. If something goes to the wayside, this is what it is. I also have a very wide range of students. There are kids who just don’t care at all to students who struggle academically to those kids who should be in AP courses and those who’d quickly sign up for honors, if we offered it in my district. We don’t. The discipline problems take up so much time, that I can only apologize to them and submit the As the easily earn. A colleague of mine seems to dumb everything down, but I won’t do that. Yes, some kids sink. Yes, I try to help them, but if they don’t help themselves, there’s only so much I can do as their teacher.

John Jell

One of the things that makes students hate teachers is that they feel we don’t prepare them, and they don’t even decide this until they graduate from college. Not high school. Jell hears from these men and women everyday. After the above reflections, this made me feel a little better. I do this all of the time, and the kids will tell others that it’s to a fault. They complain when I push them. They complain when I pile on the work. They complain when they just don’t get it, and when they are confused in class. And some hate me. But guess what? For every 10 students who groan, fight me, hate me, and complain to my admin, their counselors, my colleagues, and their friends, guess what? One of them comes back and thanks me. One of them (or sometimes more), come back. They thank me. I just smile. They get it. They got it. And yes, they are better for it.

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