Gannon University is home to over 2,000 students at any given time of year. Within this student body, a variety of different people exist. We are united though our pursuit of education at Gannon University. However, our differences may lie in our ages, career choices, races, faiths, or a plethora of other things. In every aspect that we are different, there is one where we are similar. In roundtable, we explore the similarities and differences in the thoughts and opinions of Gannon students.
With back-to-school fresh in everyone’s mind, this is a season that many people reflect on their past schoolteachers. Whether a person’s gone to public or private school, or spent time training with sports coaches, teachers inevitably leave a large impact on the students they instruct.
The teachers that give instruction on their topics with clarity and passion are often remembered fondly, as well as the teachers that go beyond the instruction of their subjects and show their students how to maneuver through life.
This week, two participants, Alli Novick and Samantha Turk were asked one question.
“Throughout your life, who is one teacher that has left an impact on you, positive or negative?”
Sophomore Alli Novick answers with one of Gannon’s own professors. “Dr. Ropski impacted me for his passion of learning. It inspired me. His passion is contagious.”
Meanwhile, Samantha Turk, a sophomore, reflects on a high school teacher.
“My junior year math teacher. I was never really the best at math, and she taught it in a way that was easy to understand and follow. The way she taught it, she was very passionate about it, and she wanted everyone to do well. And eventually, she was also just a person I could talk to about life in general; she was someone I could always talk to.”
While a teacher’s primary goal is to educate students on certain subjects, the impact that they have outside of academics cannot be ignored. Edutopia shares a study done by C. Kirabo Jackson, which focused on the long-term impact that teachers have on different aspects of their students’ lives. The study found that students who have had teachers that focus on student behavior and activity tended to yield positive results, even in non-academic areas. For example, students were less likely to be held back a grade level, and more likely to attend classes. Many teachers focus on test scores, and many administrative systems often push teachers to focus on test scores. However, teachers that go beyond test scores and focus on certain non-academic skills can vastly impact and improve the lives of their students.
The impact teachers have on students’ lives often goes far beyond the lessons they teach in the classroom, or the scores of administered tests. Passion, patience, and empathy are how many students remember their favorite teachers.
(Photo courtesy of Teach for America)
