As a parent, I feel that the Great American Teacher is not dead, but unfortunately, not all teachers are great. Sending my child to an ESL classroom would give me serious anxiety, and the best way to overcome that would be to visit the classroom with my child.
Upon entering a classroom, the environment would say much about the teacher as well as the way my child felt when meeting the teacher. A positive teacher-student relationship is such an important detail in the life of my child. For those administrators that help instill that within the classrooms, that will create a greater desire for me to let my child go to school and for my child to want to go to school each and every day. I would also look for the classroom that not only creates a learning environment but one that contains a variety of methods to promote learning.
The teacher that takes time to develop ways for my child to achieve success and helps to develop a connection to allow for more knowledge and growth, will certainly be the kind of education I hope to find for my child. The excitement in achieving a goal, the celebration of special occasions, the laughter that fills the classroom, the imagination that expands when movement and creativity are present will certainly factor into the development of my child's performance in the classroom and at home.
I know all classrooms have their share of challenges and confrontations, but when a teacher makes a child feel important, the frustrations decrease and the positive actions appear more often. These words of Mark Twain describe what to do to stay positive and confident, "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
