Final Assignment: This I Believe Essay
Name: Michelle Huffman
Teaching is like eggs. You have all these chicken parents that pop out these
little eggs and then they are gathered in a classroom nest. As a teacher, I consider
myself the chef who decides what to do with all of them. You see, there are so many
different ways to eat an egg, just as there are many different types of students.
Some students are perfectionists, much like an over medium egg. They strive
to appear flawless on the outside, but on the inside, they are terrified of breaking the
yoke. Quite oppositely, some students are scrambled eggs. They don’t care how they
get made as long as it gets done, just like doing schoolwork. Then there’s your
students who are always just so positive and happy to be in school and learning.
They are sunny-side up. Often times you have a student or two that is really hard to
get through to. They have a hard shell similar to a hardboiled egg, but once you can
break through that shell, there’s a whole lot of good inside.
So as the chef and teacher, it is my responsibility to make sure that I accept
all of these different learning styles and personalities and find a way to make
omelets. Omelets allow you to mix things up, try new things, and explore
opportunities. Curriculum and standards will always be the root of education and an
omelet will always be an omelet. It is in adding the cheese, ham, and onions to the
mix that really makes the difference and creates the flavor. That is why I’m the chef.
I must invest in my students and learn what ingredients they need to bring out their
highest potential.
There are other factors of course when frying an omelet. There’s the stove;
administration in this case. Sometimes you have an older stove that isn’t up to date
and there can be some harmful factors to an egg student’s possibilities. Other times
you may have a brand new stove that gets hot really quick and you have to make
sure that you are careful when frying your omelet. It is in finding the balance
between old-fashioned ideas and over aggressive belief systems that teachers can
best create an atmosphere in which their students will thrive.
Let us not forget about the role that parents and cooperating with other
faculty plays in education. They can leave you feeling a little salty sometimes but
you have to learn to let it go because too much salt on an omelet is a bad thing.
Rather, supplement that salty feeling for a little hot sauce and add some spice in
your teaching.
When it is all said and done, it is important to remember that as an educator
you are dealing with people that were hatched and nurtured by their parents. They
leave their nest and are placed in your chef hands with the hope that they will come
out with a delicious and lasting experience. Teachers should always be trying to
improve, stay informed on new research and methods, experimenting with new
things, and reflect on the things that work and don’t work…. Just like a chef making
an omelet.