The Letter
To: Mrs.
L. B., Elementary School Teacher Dear Mrs. L. B., As a child I was not the self-regulated learner my other classmates were. I did not have natural motivation to learn, which led me to believe that I was just a bad student and that's that. Since I was young I have had this self-conception which caused me to make excuses for myself; except you would not stand for it. You ignored the excuses and found solutions to my academic problems by translating the information to motivate my will to learn. You gave me remediation responses, and praised not only a correct answer but my hard work. You understood students have many different learning styles and that school is based around students not material. Besides you, I never had a teacher who spent more time explaining curriculum then lecturing to get through the chapter. The few minutes of extra time you spent guiding me, lasted throughout my life as I progressed through school having difficulty with other subjects. The study tips and organizational strategies you taught me for my third grade subjects helped me learn economics and art history as well. What I know now is that is was not the curriculum that gave me trouble but the way I was organizing the curriculum in my notes and in my head. While trying to understand third grade history all I thought about was how boring it was, not how I can translate it to understand the material easier. That is why you inspired me to become a teacher. As you have made such an impact on my life and taught me everyone can learn given the right methods, I want to give others the opportunity I have had by learning this when I was young. I want to teach young children as you have, using praise and remediation. I strongly believe using praise instead of harsh criticism will raise a child's self-concept which will increase classroom discussions, opinions and motivation. I think that a confident person will be willing to share their opinions and know if they try they can conquer. You have inspired not only my classroom philosophy but also my strong motivation to follow in your footsteps. Sincerely, |