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Most teachers follow the assumed job description of teaching: follow the curriculum, discipline problematic students, and stay after to offer tutelage to those who are struggling. Many follow this game plan semester after semester, year after year. One is surprised and refreshed to find an addition of creativity to this teaching pattern; such an inimitable teacher who goes out of his or her way to encourage a student to keep trying to perform to his or her best, whether said student is a classic overachiever or one of the many who are only in school because the law states that children must be educated until a certain age. I was lucky enough to meet such a person; a person who, to this day, influences my choices, my academic pursuits, and my problem solving skills that get put to the test daily. This teacher not only cared about getting the material across in class, but he was waiting and ready to lend an open ear if one of his kids was struggling with issues either inside or outside the classroom. His name is Eric Matez; my third grade teacher. Teachers very rarely go above and beyond the call of duty; their job is to teach to a certain pre-set standard, and that is what they do. Mr. Matez was different; he made sure we learned the curriculum that year, but at the same time he catered to every student's needs. Each student has a different learning method: some learn better visually, hands on, or orally, in a group or by himself or herself. Just as each student has a different learning method, each student also has a personality: he or she may feel left behind and afraid of being made fun of if he or she doesn't understand the material; on the opposite side of the pendulum one encounters the students in the class who are easily bored and feel that their time is being wasted when the teacher reviews the same materials day after day for the "slower" members of the class. Mr. Matez incorporated all methods of teaching into the required curriculum: he used the tried and true, and somewhat tired, method of teaching from the front of the classroom; he had us work on projects both individually and in groups; to teach us responsibility we had classroom pets; and for in-depth hands-on learning we read The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, combined the books to develop a screenplay, condensed the screenplay into the allotted time limit of one hour, constructed the scenery and props, and, at the end of the year we produced it. It was an extemporary way to teach many skills including, but not limited to, creativity and cooperation. Many students had barely even glanced at a map before entering his classroom; Eric taught us not only how to read and follow a map, but put our skills to the test by scheduling a day of orienteering. As a class we followed our maps around the town of Norfolk, following the clues to specific spots of interest and reward. Granted this may seem like an "out of the box" teaching method, but if you ask any of his students, I'd wager that they actually understood most, if not all of the material that year, and they have not enjoyed as exciting a year since. Teachers do not have to be your friend; all they have to do is make sure you complete the assignments, understand the material marginally well, and pass the state standardized tests. Many teachers see that as their responsibility and stop there; not Mr. Matez. Many of the students in his class came from troubled backgrounds, myself included. Their families were either poor, or they were going through domestic troubles, or the young people just felt misunderstood and like an outcasts in their own families. In an affluent small town as Norfolk, this is often a very secretive or ignored state of events, but Mr. Matez wasn't the sort of person to turn a blind eye, or heart, to such things. He made sure that "his" students understood that there was someone in the world who gave a damn about them. During the winter, he even gave one student a pair of durable shoes because, coming from a large and very poor family, the student's parents had to choose between warm feet or a full stomachs for their children. Another student was going through problems at home, where her father was a controlling and frequently abusive alcoholic. The father was also a person who was well known and prominent in the town of people who had no idea what was going on behind closed doors, or if they did, they felt it in their best to ignore it. Mr. Matez understood the sensitivity of the situation and provided support and an open ear. He also established a positive male and paternal role model for her, as he has two daughters of his own. Whether it was going over a piece of material that a student didn't understand, providing challenges to a more advanced student, ensuring that a student didn't have to choose between mealtime or walking with the appropriate shoes on his feet, or assuring that each student felt proud of himself or herself as an individual at the end of the year, Mr. Matez was always ready to rally to the challenge. He taught us all how to look at problems and everyday situations from a multidimensional point of view. When a student pointed out an error on his part, he didn't assume that the student was wrong or criticize the student for interrupting him; he went and checked over what he was working on and sometimes the student was right! If that was the situation, Mr. Matez would thank the student for his or her astuteness, and in doing so, taught us another positive example to apply to our lives. Mr. Matez encouraged his students to hold to their own beliefs in the face of adversity and to stand up for what was right. Each student was an individual to him; someone special who should be appreciated for his or her own merit, not to be demeaned, ignored, or condemned for being different. Most of all, I have to give him credit for helping me get to where I am today: first in my class of 381 students, and in the upper 98th percentile of my peers nationwide. I was going through a rough period of time at home, and Mr. Matez helped me understand that although I couldn't bring those problems to class with me, there was always an open ear or a shoulder to cry on after class was done. Mr. Matez also helped me understand that sometimes adults make poor choices in their lives, but that doesn't mean that their children are responsible for those choices. He also recognized my special educational and social needs. There are special educational programs and emotional supports built into our educational system for students who face learning challenges; but there are no such safety nets for intellectually gifted students. Because I was intellectually advanced over many of my peers, I was basically ostracized by them. They didn't understand where I was coming from or what I was talking about. I was different from them and they didn't like it. He taught me that everyone in the world is different, and that by holding onto my own educational values I could become anyone and anything I wanted to be. He helped me learn to celebrate people's differences; even if I didn't agree with how they dressed, looked, or acted, I learned that I could at least tolerate and accept them. Difference is what makes our world such a unique and special place; there is a new person to meet or a new place to discover around every corner. The world holds many opportunities for every individual, if one bothers to take the time to look. The lessons I learned in third grade went far and beyond that of the yearly curriculum; they are life lessons that will continue to mold me into a better person and that will help me make the most of myself as I grow older. Mr. Matez is second only to my mother in being the greatest, most positive influence in my life. If that isn't an example of an exceptional teacher, what is?
K. S. |