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Education Inspiration: Victor

I'd like to consider myself a lifetime learner. I feel more fulfilled learning than most other experiences. Since English is a second language for me and I am still learning it, I try to make use of as many of my senses in the learning process as possible to compensate for my lack of knowledge of English. I find that the more senses I engage during a learning process the better I comprehend and the longer I retain the knowledge. Also, I believe that the more we listen to others the more we learn. Whether we learn through formal methods such as the educational processes or the informal day-to-day observation of others, our surroundings or reading, maintaining focus on the subject during the experience makes the learning process much more effective.
Victor
Huntington Beach, CA

One of the best lessons my students taught me was adaptability. It wasn't an easy lesson to learn. I was schooled by Shelly--a social, precocious, and very distracting student.
Whenever I challenged her in class, she had all the answers. Her work was done quickly and proficiently. When she was busy, she was fine; when she wasn't busy, she was trouble. One day while the class was working on an assignment, I noticed she was done and looking around...
Fortunately, a flash of intuition saved me.
I motioned Shelly to my desk. I pulled out a copy of King of the Wind, and asked, in a whisper, if she would like to read it secretly while the rest of the class finished their lesson. She did. Our conspiracy worked. That year, Shelly read King of the Wind as well as many other books, all hidden behind her Spelling is Fun. She grew in leaps and bounds through her extra-curricular readings, and I grew too. Because of Shelly, I keep a classroom full of extra learning to keep those who want run with the wind from running around my classroom.
Sheryl Simms, 50
San Diego, California

The most valuable part of my education occurred outside of a classroom. At the age of twenty, after my fourth semester of college, I spent the summer backpacking through Europe. Getting there wasn't easy -- I had to cut down on my class load and work full-time in addition to taking out student loans -- but it was worth it. I visited twelve countries and met people from all over the world. In Barcelona I fell in love with the Catalan architect Gaudi and visited the Sagrada Familia every morning. In Slovakia the locals brought me into their cellars, and showed me how they made plum brandy. In Dachau I saw gas chambers and felt the somber weight of what had happened there. I hitchhiked along the coast of Ireland and spent my 21st birthday in a pub full of locals who, though they had just met me, brought me a cake and invited me on stage to sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" with the local accordion player. I returned to school in the fall, broke and enchanted with the world.
Julie Spilos, 31

As a student teacher I was required to keep a journal on a student. I chose Sean, who no one, including the teacher, seemed to like. One day the teacher told me that Sean wasn't very bright. He was in his second year of kindergarten, and she would hold him back yet another year.
As I observed Sean, I noticed he laid his head down to do his work; he squinted, and never seemed to meet your eyes when engaged. I got permission to send him to the school nurse. Two weeks later he showed up to school with glasses as thick as coke bottles. I am happy to say that Sean was promoted to first grade. Once he could see, he could learn, and he learned readily. He taught me a valuable lesson as well. Never underestimate the obvious--if a child seems slow or uninterested, don't assume that he is--check him out.
Little Rock,Arkansas

When I was in my last semester of doctoral work, I got the call nobody wants to get. My mother was in the hospital scheduled to have a mid-thigh amputation the next day. She didn't tell me. She didn't want to worry me. I left school instantly and flew to my tiny Kansas hometown--thanks to my grad school classmates who covered the classes I was teaching. As a "nontraditional" student with 25 years between degrees, I wasn't unique in having a family crisis. In my large grad program, most of the grad students my age experienced the death or serious illness of a parent during their grad school years. Real life, with all its traumas, marches on, whether we're back in school or not. I do think the trauma made my eventual graduation all the sweeter. My mother was there to see me get my Ph.D. I'll never forget hearing her say 'I'm proud of you.'
Jo Clarke, 48

Here's a pretty good story. Instead of going to college directly out of high school, I started touring with a rock band (I'm a guitar player). Unfortunately, all those loud shows caused me to develop a permanent ringing in my ears which is called tinnitus. My doctor told me that I'd have to quit the band if I ever wanted to get my hearing back to normal. All of the sudden, I found myself without a college degree at the age of 25 with no good job prospects. My girlfriend had just graduated from college and encouraged me to get a degree online. With her support, I recently finished my bachelor's degree in computer science online and just landed a job as a technology consultant. I still play the guitar (acoustic!), and my girlfriend makes a great audience.
Steve Ashkenazy, 29
New York City, USA

The bane of an English teacher's existence is grading papers--especially for a fledging teacher who was doing her best to get through hundreds of assignments. My classroom philosophy of connecting with students personally and keeping writing instruction fun simply didn't outweigh my personal feelings about grading.
One fall semester I taught English101, followed by 102 in spring. I always wondered if students took a second class because they genuinely liked my teaching, or if it was just easy or convenient. Lee, a self-proclaimed hater of writing, took both classes. In 102, she became one of my hardest-working students. I liked Lee. What English teacher wouldn't like a student who suddenly took time to look up conventions?
At the end of the semester I was dealing with a plagiarism case, the typical grading load, and student conferences--I was overwhelmed and feeling hopeless. During a conference with one of Lee's workshop members, I learned something. Lee had said if she ever had a big sister, she'd want her to be just like me. Somehow, I'd reached Lee on a personal level, helping her to be a better student. No amount of paperwork could have ruined the moment my teaching philosophy was realized by Lee.
JoVon Sotak, 28
Reno, Nevada, U.S.