Chapter 4: Advice for Teachers from High School Students

One thing that was repeated over and over in this chapter was how big of an impact the opinion of a teacher can have on how well a student will or will not do in school. In every section, it seemed, someone mentioned how important it is for teachers to believe in their students.

What caught my attention here is how many students recognize when a teacher believes in them, and how big of an impact that makes on their motivation to do well. I always knew it was important for teachers to encourage students, to make them feel like they could do well, but I had no idea that it was so important. Based on what the authors said in this chapter, a teacher's attitude toward students can be the difference between exceling and failing.

Chapter 3: Advice for Teachers from High School Students

What caught my attention in this chapter was the part where a student said that teachers should just be themselves. The student talked about one particular teacher who always smiled, even when taking out the trash. This student was under the impression that the teacher was not being real.

The reason this stands out to me is that I am a person who smiles all the time for no apparent reason. I'm not trying to perform for anyone; I'm just a naturally happy person and I show it. The words of this student caught my attenion because I never want my students to think that I'm trying to make them like me by smiling all the time. This thought never occurred to me until I read this chapter.