However, there is another way. A way in which learning is in the students hands. The teacher acts as a facilitator, rather than an omnipotent lecturer. A classroom that exceeds the confines of the four walls of a traditional classroom and brings learning outside the classroom. Thus students can gain the tools to help problem solve questions about their neighborhood, their community, and even the world. These are the hallmarks of exemplary teachers and the methods they employ.
In my own personal life, I have had many exemplary teachers who made such a mark on me and my learning that I still remember their classes many years later. My first influential science teacher was Mrs. Schweiter, who taught 9th grade biology, and 10th grade integrated science. She was just an amazing individual who made science fun and enjoyable. One of my favorite activities she did was to incorporate our own personal likes and dislikes into our exams. For example: Mary Beth likes to raise her own vegetables, especially broccoli. Broccoli contains organelles called chloroplasts. What is the primary function of the chloroplasts in Mary Beth's broccoli?
My second exemplary science teacher was Mrs. Glass, who taught high school anatomy and physiology. In my opinion, Mrs. Glass had the definition of an exemplary teacher down to a T. She provided us with fun, hands on activities and experiments to do, such as multiple dissections and we even got to create an edible skeleton from candy! But even when we were in lecture taking notes, she aimed to make the lessons interesting. She would provide coloring sheets for the different systems we were learning about, and she even would tell us what would happen when those systems failed or didn't work properly, such as sickle cell anemia being a mutation of normal hemoglobin (blood) cells.
So why were these two teachers so memorable to me compared to the many others I have had over the years? Because they made learning meaningful and fun! They treated their students with respect and dignity, recognizing they were fellow scientists and learners. They work extremely hard, even outside of the classroom, to provide meaningful learning experiences for their students. Exceptional teachers chose this profession because they want to make a difference in the lives of their students. Exceptional teachers are rare gems, the needle in the haystack, and a breed of their own.