It’s Not What You Teach, It’s What Kind of Teacher You Are | Gregory Chahrozian | TEDxAUA
Summary
TLDRThe speaker reflects on the profound influence teachers have on students, beyond academic knowledge. Drawing from personal experiences, they emphasize the importance of teachers as role models who impart life lessons through their behavior, attitudes, and interactions. The narrative highlights the teacher-student bond, akin to a second parent, and the responsibility educators hold to nurture and inspire future generations. The speaker encourages both educators and students to value this relationship, recognizing its potential to shape great citizens.
Takeaways
- 😨 The initial fear of teaching: The speaker reflects on the anxiety felt on their first day of teaching, emphasizing the pressure of first impressions.
- 👀 The power of perception: Before even speaking, students form perceptions about teachers based on their appearance and rumors, highlighting the importance of first impressions.
- 📄 The mentor's advice: A piece of paper as a prop to project an image of being busy and important, a lesson in managing perceptions.
- 🤔 Reflecting on teachers: The speaker prompts the audience to consider what they remember about their teachers, focusing on the intangible qualities that are not explicitly taught.
- 👩🏫👨🏫 Role models and inspiration: Teachers often impart life lessons and values through their behavior, not just academic knowledge.
- 🎨 The art of teaching: The art teacher's talent and humility serve as a lesson in not judging by appearances and the importance of caring.
- 👶 Breaking gender norms: The English and science teachers, a married couple, challenge traditional gender roles, showing that roles can be flexible.
- 👨👧👦 The teacher as a parent figure: Teachers spend significant time with students and can have a profound influence, akin to that of parents.
- 🤝 The importance of the teacher-student bond: A strong relationship between teacher and student is built on patience, trust, kindness, and respect.
- 🌟 The impact of teaching: Teachers have the potential to shape future generations and should strive to make a positive impact on each student.
- 📚 Beyond academics: The speaker encourages students to appreciate their teachers for more than just academic instruction, recognizing the broader life lessons taught.
Q & A
What was the speaker's initial feeling about teaching on their first day?
-The speaker felt very scared on their first day of teaching, describing it as possibly the scariest day of their life.
What advice did the speaker's first mentor give them about carrying a piece of paper in school?
-The mentor advised the speaker to always carry a piece of paper to give the perception that they are busy, doing something important, and always up to something, which is about managing perception and gaining respect.
What qualities did the speaker's art teacher possess that left a lasting impression?
-The art teacher was described as petite, scruffy, a nail-biting mumbling man, but also as an amazing artist, which reinforced the lesson of not judging a book by its cover and the importance of being humble and caring.
How did the speaker's English and science teachers influence their views on gender roles?
-The English and science teachers, a married couple, showed that gender roles should not be locked or defined when the male teacher stayed at home to look after their child, which was unusual for the time, especially in an all-boy school.
What is the estimated average time a teacher spends with their students in a lifetime?
-A teacher spends an estimated average of over nineteen thousand hours with their students in a lifetime.
What is the term used in the educational world to describe teachers acting as parents?
-The term used is 'in loco parentis', which means teachers are given the responsibility to act in the best interests of their students and to treat them like their own children.
What is the significance of the bond formed between a student and a teacher according to the speaker?
-The bond formed between a student and a teacher is significant as it is based on patience, trust, kindness, care, and respect, and it should not be taken for granted. It is a special relationship that can greatly influence a student's life.
How does the speaker describe the impact of a teacher on a student's life beyond academics?
-The speaker describes the impact as profound, stating that students learn more from teachers' behaviors, attitudes, and the way they make them feel, rather than just from the academic content taught.
What role does the speaker believe educators should strive to fulfill in shaping the future?
-The speaker believes that educators should strive to have an impact and mold the future for the better, one student at a time, by being role models and influencing students' lives positively.
What advice does the speaker give to students regarding their relationship with teachers?
-The speaker advises students to look beyond exams and grades, to appreciate their teachers, and to learn from them, as there is much to absorb beyond the classroom.
Outlines
👨🏫 The Unspoken Lessons of Teaching
In this paragraph, the speaker reflects on the realization that the most important lessons teachers impart are not explicitly taught but rather demonstrated through their behavior and attitudes. The speaker recounts their first day of teaching and the perceptions students had formed about them before they even spoke. They share advice from a mentor about maintaining a busy and important appearance to influence perception positively. The speaker emphasizes the non-academic qualities such as zest for life, humor, kindness, tolerance, acceptance, and fairness that are modeled by teachers and absorbed by students. They also share personal anecdotes about teachers who made a significant impact on them, such as an art teacher who was a talented artist and an English and science teacher couple who challenged traditional gender roles.
👨👩👧 The Role of Teachers as Second Parents
This paragraph delves into the significant role teachers play in shaping students' identities, akin to parents. The speaker discusses the concept of 'in loco parentis,' where teachers are entrusted with the responsibility to act in the best interests of their students. They highlight the deep bonds formed between teachers and students, which are built on patience, trust, kindness, care, and respect. The speaker shares a poignant story of a parent-teacher interview that underscores the importance of these relationships. They also mention the societal benefits of strong teacher-student bonds, which can lead to the creation of great learners and, ultimately, great citizens. The speaker encourages educators to strive for a positive impact on students' lives and urges students to appreciate and learn from their teachers beyond academic lessons.
📚 Perception and Learning Beyond the Classroom
In the final paragraph, the speaker concludes with the idea that students learn more from teachers' behaviors and attitudes than from academic content alone. They reiterate the power of perception and the influence teachers have on students' lives, encouraging teachers to be mindful of the example they set. The speaker emphasizes the importance of teachers' non-academic qualities and the lasting impact they can have on students, urging both teachers and students to value the educational journey beyond grades and exams.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Perception
💡Role Models
💡In loco parentis
💡Gender Roles
💡Inspiration
💡Tolerance
💡Kindness
💡Patience
💡Respect
💡Curriculum
💡Impact
Highlights
The importance of first impressions and how students form perceptions of their teachers before any interaction.
The advice from the first mentor about always carrying a piece of paper to project the image of being busy and important.
The concept of 'perception' and its significance in the educational environment.
Reflection on the qualities remembered about teachers, such as their zest for life, sense of humor, kindness, tolerance, and fairness.
The realization that important qualities of teaching are not explicitly taught but are modeled by role models.
The anecdote about the art teacher who was an amazing artist and played football, teaching the lesson of not judging a book by its cover.
The story of the English and science teachers, a married couple, and the lesson on gender roles and family dynamics.
The statistic that teachers spend over nineteen thousand hours with their students in a lifetime.
The idea that teachers act as parents, with the responsibility to act in the best interests of their students (in loco parentis).
The powerful bond formed between a student and a teacher, likened to a second parent.
The impact of a teacher's patience, trust, kindness, care, and respect on the student-teacher relationship.
The societal benefits when the student-teacher relationship is nourished and supported.
The quote from William Saroyan emphasizing the importance of children as the future of humanity.
The call to educators to strive to have an impact and mold the future for the better, one student at a time.
The personal motivation of the speaker to become a teacher to influence and touch lives.
Encouragement for students to appreciate their teachers beyond exams and grades, as there is much to learn from them.
The reminder that perception is a powerful tool in teaching, where students learn more from observing teachers than just from books.
Transcripts
foreign
what if teachers realize that the most
important thing they teach
they don't actually teach
I started teaching around about 20 years
ago
and for me
it was very scary on that very first day
you ask any teacher it could be the
scariest day of their life
I had to walk through this long
Courtyard
with hundreds of googly eyes just
staring at me
that's the new sign you signature
no it's not
I like his tie
he looks strict
I heard he plays football professionally
before I even met them
before I even opened my mouth
they had formed a perception of who I
was
or who I might be
this was taught to me by my very first
mentor
an older gentleman
ironically about to retire
he pulled me aside one day
and he said
Greg
never walk around the school without a
piece of paper in your hand
I was confused
and thought what on Earth is this guy
talking about
so he pulled me aside and sat me down
and said
that the piece of paper
is to give the perception
that you're busy
you're doing something important
and you're always up to something
perception my dear Gregory
it's all about permission
so how perceptive were you
when you think back
I want you to think about your teachers
what do you remember about them
the good
the bad
or even your current teachers
when they stand before you
what is it that you absorb and observe
is it the zest for life
their sense of humor
or is it their kindness their tolerance
acceptance and fairness
you see none of the above is explicitly
taught
when you're obtaining an educational
degree
they definitely weren't taught to me
so where did I get them from
German you know
educational hierarchy or experts or the
curriculum
no
they were modeled to me
by my role models
my teachers
I had some amazing teachers
and I've had some horrible ones too
but I could see them all there in front
of me
every single one of them
the way they looked
the way they spoke
even the way they walked
but most importantly
I remember how they made me feel
and how they inspired me
for example my art teacher
was a petite
scruffy
nail-biting mumbling man
but he was an amazing artist
far too talented to be teaching at a
secondary school
I used to remember running to his
classes
just to see what magic he would conjure
up that day
I loved art
but I probably love football more
so it was a surprise to me to see him on
the football field during the teacher
versus student game
he was fast he was skillful
and I think he too played professionally
when he was younger
you see my art teacher reinforced to
never judge a book by its cover
to be humble
and to be caring
my English and science teachers were
actually a married couple I adored them
she was a strong intelligent elegant
lover of linguist
he
was relaxed
fun
well groomed scientist
when it came time for them to start a
family
they disappeared for a while on
maternity and paternity leave
respectively
but only one of them came back
she came back
he stayed at home to look after their
child
now this was 30 years ago
at an all-boy School
that singular event
taught me that gender roles shouldn't be
locked or defined
talking about families
we know how important families are
to establishing the foundations to who
we become
our parents
are able to create an identity for us
as we grow
now this could only be
I guess challenged
or there's only one entity or person
that could come close to your family or
to your parents
that's your teacher
a teacher spends a considerable amount
of time with their students
on average over nineteen thousand hours
in a lifetime
now that's plenty of time for a teacher
to layer their students
with their personalities
likewise that's plenty of time for the
student
to layer their own personalities
with the positive things they see in
their teachers
to accept those that are favorable
and hopefully to reject those less
favorable
in the educational world
teachers
act as parents
it's known as in loco parentis
teachers are given
the responsibility
to act in the best interests of their
students
and to treat them like their own
I know I treat my students like my own
always have
and always will
so the important thing about the
relationship that is formed
between a student and a teacher
is an extremely amazing Bond
we think about how important these bonds
are
I remember a parent-teacher interview
I feel sorry for that child
his father was very angry that day
he wasn't doing well academically
and he wasn't doing well behaviorally in
class
he turned around to his son and said
when you're at home
I'm your father
but when you're at school
Mr scherzing's your father
I've never forgotten that day at all
we have a similar saying here in Armenia
when translated
it's your teacher is your second parent
going back to the bonds that are formed
between a teacher and a student
they are special
they are amazing
and it's something that only a teacher
will ever feel
these bonds are created
because there's a lot of patience a lot
of trust
a lot of kindness and care
and a lot of respect they should not be
taken for granted
and both parties need to put into this
relationship both teacher and student
now when these bonds are nourished and
supported Society benefits also
you see great teachers create great
learners
and great Learners hopefully become
great citizens
no pressure teachers
William surreyon in our an Armenian
American novelist once said
kids are always the only future the
human race has
I've always believed wholeheartedly in
that statement and I'm sure a lot of
other Educators do too
so those who are in education
or those wanting to be educators
let us strive to have an impact and mold
the future for the better
one student at a time
that's why I got into teaching
to have an influence and touch so many
people's lives
and to make a difference in this world
if you are a student
I want you to look beyond your exams and
your grades
take the time to appreciate the teachers
in front of you
absorb as much as you can from them
because there is so much there that you
could learn
someone once told me
that perception
is a powerful tool
students will learn more from you
without even opening a book
thank you
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