Imagine being a frustrated student
such as this one. I’m sure we’ve all been there, myself included. This was me
in my sophomore geometry class in high school. I was really struggling, and it
can be frustrating to take on the battle alone. This is where teachers come in
and help save the day. Teachers, with their use of people skills and problem
solving abilities given by a liberal arts degree, can really make an impact on student’s
lives. Sadly, they are often unappreciated and poorly perceived. Their job is
not viewed as very difficult and some will say that because they get summers
off, their job is easier than others. Hopefully, this blog will make you
realize that being a teacher is anything but easy and there is a lot of work
that goes on behind the scenes that doesn’t get enough credit.
This is where the work takes place.
We were tested about once a week in my geometry class because it was an honors
class. The day before every test, Mrs. Griffith would work with me for about a
half an hour going over sample problems. The next morning before the test, she
would again work with me for a half hour, going over more problems and anything
I was still fuzzy on. I was a perfectionist, so if I didn’t get these things
right sometimes the sessions would be longer. There were other confused
students from time to time with questions, but still that is at least an hour
of extra work a week to help just one student.
This table certainly backs up the claim that teachers make substantially less than most jobs. While there really is no denying this, sometimes in order to see the worth of something, you have to look beyond material possessions. Mrs. Griffith didn’t get paid in dollars and cents for helping me. At least to my knowledge, there was no bonus or overtime. She got paid when she saw a smile break across my face when I finally mastered a confusing topic, or when she would hand back my test with a good grade on it and say: “Good job Adam, I’m so proud of you.”
The question is this: What in this blog has
described Mrs. Griffith as lazy? Some will say it doesn’t take a whole lot of
effort to be a teacher. This blog hopes to dispel that notion. Mrs. Griffith
spent so much of her extra time with me; time she probably didn’t have. It was
an extra hour out of her day, and then she would still have to do all of her
other teaching duties, such as grading papers and preparing the next day’s
lesson plans. Another thought to throw in here is that teachers have family
lives too. The time they spend doing extra work with students definitely takes
away family time, too.
This was not the grade I received in the class. This
is the grade I would give Mrs. Griffith for her help with me. When I asked her
for her help, my grade was a low “C.” By the end of the semester, I had a “B.”
The next semester we continued this routine and I nearly got an “A.” Mrs.
Griffith was able to help me by understanding what type of learner I was, using
her people skills, and by thinking outside the box to figure out what to do
when I did not understand concepts, using her problem solving skills. Both are
crucial components of a liberal arts degree. Her ability to succeed in these fields
allowed me to succeed in her geometry class. We forged a friendship along the
way. Liberal arts majors, and definitely teachers, often get a bad rap, but its
stories like these that hopefully will help to change their perception on the
impact they can make on the world.
After this blog you might be asking so what, who
cares? It’s a nice story but is there a deeper meaning behind it? Actually, the
biggest thing that a liberal arts degree brings to the table is introducing the
concept of humanities into the world. It’s the understanding of how we as
humans have evolved into who we are today. It’s about the concept of understanding
people and how to best deal with them, because like it or not they are going to
be around. This degree may not provide as lucrative of a lifestyle, but
nonetheless it can still be fulfilling and there are many uses for it in
society today.
References
Adams, S. (2012, April 12). College
Degrees With The Highest Starting Salaries - Forbes. Information for the World's Business
Leaders - Forbes.com. Retrieved October 31, 2012, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/04/12/college-degrees-with-the-highest-starting-salaries/
www.agefotostock.com
www.clker.com
www.cafemom.com
www.cutcaster.com
www.pusparaniology.com
Ray, B.
(2010, April 12). Engineers vs liberal arts: Engineering salaries win out but
at what cost? | Babs Ray. Babs Ray | I respect faith, but doubt is what
gives you an education –Wilson Mizner. Retrieved October 31, 2012, from http://mybarbararay.com/2010/04/12/engineers-vs-liberal-arts-engineering-salaries-win-out-but-at-what-cost/
S. Hart, Personal Comm.
24 October 2012
Ungar, S. J. (2010). The New Liberal Arts. Unknown:
Unknown.
Memo
When I first got this project
assigned, I was definitely a little scared. I didn’t really know what to think;
I had never done a project like this before. I especially grew frustrated
with the assignment in the beginning stages. For me, I really struggled with
the creative aspect in terms of finding pictures to go along with my story. The
story was something I knew I wouldn’t have too much difficulty with. I was very
happy to be able to share my experience as to how a teacher had a big impact on
my life. For the most part, the problem for me wasn’t the words; it was the
pictures that went along with it. That being said, the one issue I had with the
words was to make sure that they didn’t tell the story that the images did. One
of my biggest problems is I tend to get too wordy with things and become
long-winded. The key to this whole assignment was to make sure that the images
told the story and the words were just there as a guide to help it flow
cohesively.
With
this story, I decided to tell it chronologically. What this means for the
pictures is that their place in the story deals with timeliness, not relevance.
In other words, just because the exasperated student was placed first does not
mean that it is the most important picture in my story. I designed this blog
with an active voice. I wanted the readers to know that this was a personal
story because I believe that helps to add effect to it. My goal was to have the
readers look at the images and for them to have an idea of what I was talking
about, but also to add a little bit of mystery or intrigue. I wanted the
readers to take that intrigue and use the caption to help make everything
completely clear.
I
was proud of the general design of my sight. I consider myself about as basic
of a beginner as you can possibly get. For me, just to be able to put up a blog
with images is an accomplishment, and I was thrilled to be able to do that.
That being said, I hope to advance my knowledge of this because I am sure I
will be asked to do this again at some point in my life. Something I would look
to improve on would be the use of videos, trailers, or other multimedia into my
blog. I’m sure it adds an extra dimension to my work and of course would be
more exciting than just images. But, that is the next step. For now, I am
thrilled with what I have. For the graphics, I tried to make sure I followed
the four principles of images. The one I really stressed was alignment because
that I believe really can enhance or destroy a site. I tried to make of all my
images align center because that allows for cohesive flow. I believe that if there is a lot of wacky alignment that
is all over the place, it won’t be enjoyable for the reader. As I said earlier,
I tried to make sure there was not too much text on any one image because that
would make the reader disinterested. I tried to keep it fairly simple. One
thing for sure though is that I enjoyed doing this project, and I never
expected to say that when I first started.
