Outstanding Teachers Part II
Mr. Worley was an incredible band director and the first person to seriously interest me in music. I believe that Mr. Worley had an empiricist philosophy towards teaching. In reading, I have learned that empiricists do not punish so much as reward, and Mr. Worley could always be found praising his students and giving outs rewards for how well the students had filled out their weekly practice charts. Also, people who share this philosophy are said not to care whether someone, for example, plays bells or sings as long as the student is learning and enjoying themselves. This, too, was most certainly the case with Mr. Worley. Throughout the first year of band, many students changed instruments one or even two times. He wanted them to find what would best suit their interest. He truly encouraged student discovery.
My math teacher Mrs. Kotzman was definitely pragmatic. She placed a heavy emphasis on math processes rather than final answers or outcomes of equations. The key to this philosophy is the importance of learning and of the means of learning, and Mrs. Kotzman herself verbally stressed how important this was to her and to her students. By implementing this philosophy, Mrs. Kotzman taught me how to apply knowledge from one area to another, and thus succeed in more advanced math. Rather than just teaching me the material and me memorizing it, Mrs. Kotzman taught me how to learn. This not only helped me significantly in her class but gave me skills that I can continue to use over the course of my entire educational career. The only aspect of this philosophy that I never saw in her behavior was that pragmatists are often said to be too lenient, and she was a very strict teacher. I believe the combination of the pragmatic teaching and the sternness was near perfection.
Mr. Schulz had rationalist tendencies. He thought it very important to teach students things beyond English and grammar; he taught students great and lasting skills that we used to analyze all aspects of our lives from the ordinary and commonplace to things of the utmost importance. Rationalists encourage students to find moral truth and develop our own strong critical and logical thinking. The prompts he gave us for writing assignments always had us examining ourselves and really questioning our deepest beliefs. We also read many interesting and controversial pieces simply to expand our horizons and broaden our minds. Mr. Schulz not only made me think and learn about myself, but how to enjoy it and reach conclusions in new and interesting ways.
Back to Academic Life