What is a Teacher?

Leticia Crespo
English 101+
October 9, 2008

What is a Teacher?

What is a teacher? Is a teacher just the professor standing in front of you in your college class? The answer is no. Anyone can be a teacher; your mother, a friend, and the person that helped you perfect your golf swing. This can be anyone who you leave knowing something new.
First of all, in order to be a teacher you need a student. Without a student you cannot teach. All the knowledge you have and share will not mean anything if no one is there to learn. Does this mean you have to have students in front of you to teach or know that you have students? Not at all, many people have no idea that they have students. This can be the person who is looking to you as you work hard to get that promotion. Students are essential, but remember that students are everywhere. They may not be in front of you but know that they are there.
What does a teacher do? Well first thing they do is share their knowledge with others. This knowledge includes things you have learned from experience, education, and life. It is endless and doesn’t always have to be complicated but your student is expecting you to know about what you are teaching, “Students expect professors to be… knowledgeable,” (Helterbran). It can be something complex like how to draw hyperbolas or as simple as drawing a smiley face. You may not think what you have to offer is worthy of being considered knowledge but no knowledge is bad knowledge and there is always someone out there in need of it.
A teacher also guides you. Guidance in simple terms is direction, supervision, or influence. It is not enough to just share your knowledge but you must help them understand it, “Students are also sensitive to the schism between a professor's knowledge-base and the ability to get it across to students at the students' level of knowledge and experience,” (Helterbran). Knowledge is not useful unless the student understands it so guidance and direction is important in the process to understanding. This can be explaining and showing how to hold a basketball right in order to achieve a free-throw or explaining how to speak to your parents about a really important problem. Guidance isn’t as complicated as many think. Be confident in your knowledge and it will be easy to help and guide another.
The last important part of being a teacher is the ability to answer questions. Many people will not always get something quickly just from your guidance and explanations. “Students are also keenly interested in having… questions answered,” (Helterbran). Many students will need to ask question in order to fully understand something and if you are unable to answer these questions the student will never be able to fully understand. This is why answering questions is important. The student has the puzzle almost finished and they just need that last piece, your answers, to help them finish it.
These three things are the most important factors in order to be a teacher. You must have all three or your student may not fully understand what you are trying to teach. These three things are not hard to do and when done, you will be just as great as the people who taught you everything that got you to where you are today. You may not even realize some of the teachers in your life; the person that taught you how to ride a bike, to open your locker, to act during a job interview, or how to handle a relationship. All these people were teachers and now it’s your turn to do the same.

References
Helterbran, Valeri R. "The ideal professor: student perceptions of effective instructor practices, attitudes, and skills.(Report)." Education 129.1 (Fall 2008): 125(14). General OneFile. Gale. Fitchburg Public Library. 14 Oct. 2008
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Under Aged Drinking

People believe that under aged drinking should not be allowed because it becomes a bad habit. Many people think that there are bad reasons why teens should not drink but most teens and some adults think it should be allowed. Teens drink for many reasons and they think they should be allowed to drink for many reasons. Problems with drinking arrive if an accident happens while operating an automobile. Teen that drink do not always cause accidents, adult that drink to much cause accidents also.
The government should allow teenagers over the age of eighteen to purchase and consume alcohol. The government allows them to vote, go to war and die for them; they should change the laws to allow them to have alcohol. Adults think that kids under twenty one years of age should not be allowed to drink because they do not show responsibility. Adults have many reasons to believe that their child or children can not be responsible because the adult did the same things that we as kids do and they do not want use to make the same mistakes that they did. Yes this could be a good reason but not all kids do the same things as their parents did as kids.
People drink for many reasons but teenagers drink for different reasons than adults. Most kids drink to have fun and get buzzed or just to think that they are cool by drinking and sometimes acting like idiots. Most of the time youth drink at parties where people witness them having fun, they don’t just come home and have a beer to relax. Teens and adults are different, adults will have a drink after a long day at work, so they can relax, and adolescents drink so that they can have a good time. In some instances people do drink too much and do drive home which becomes extremely bad because it endangers themselves and others. Teens do have different reasons for drinking but the reasons that parents drank when they were teens use the same basic principals, then and now.
Adolescent drinking is very bad but most teens show maturity about their drinking behaviors. Lots off teens do not drive drunk they either have a friend drive or they stay where they were partying. Adults can cause accidents to because they go to bars where they usually have to drive home. But the under aged drinkers party at some ones house so they usually stay there. Yes drinking can be fun; it can bring the shy person out to be more out going or the outgoing person to be more relaxed. One problem with being the shy person can be shown that they are more reliable on alcohol to become the outgoing person.
The drinking age should be lowered to eighteen because like other people say that if a person can vote and go to war they should be allowed to have a beer. If teens are allowed to drink then the laws for drunk driving should be stricter for the people between the ages of eighteen and twenty one. The laws should stay the same for people over the age of twenty one. If teens can drink then they might become more responsible when they do leave college life and start to be in the real world. This responsibility could help people to make the right choices in order to keep their life on track.
Under aged drinking is bad to most people but it can be a good life lesson for some. Having a bad time drinking or not remembering what happened most of the night can change the way people think about drinking. It can make some one realize that they should control themselves better or they should just not drink at all anymore. People have many thoughts about drinking but we are all entitled to our opinion. The consumption of alcohol will always be a problem in our country no matter what the laws are because there will always be a drinking age and there always will be people that don’t follow the rules.

Peter Richardson
10/08/08
Eng. 101
8:15-9:05



The definition of youth is “the appearance, freshness, vigor, and characteristics of one who is young”. This picture represents youth in its entirety. When you’re young, nothing in life gets better than standing on the field victorious. Looking at this picture for the first time it represents youth, happiness, and excitement.
The picture consists of young males which seem to be celebrating after a sporting event. It seems this way because three of them are in uniform, two have face paint on and the other two are just there celebrating too. Also one of the other kids in the image looks like he has an opposing team basketball sweatshirt on. However they seem to be joking with him and putting one of the baseball hats on his head.
There are a few reasons that lead me to believe that this was a baseball game. One of the reasons is that the three boys that are in uniform. Also the uniforms that they were wearing are dirty. So they may have slid or dove for a ball during the game. Another reason is that the background to the picture is dark, so it could mean that it was night time. If it was night time and they are still outside in short sleeve shirts, then it would have to be nice weather like spring, baseball season.
Another thing that I notice looking at this picture is the cars that are in the background. The cars in the picture are located on the bottom right side of the picture. They are out of focus but you can still tell what they are and it makes it easier to tell what they are because of the license plate glowing from the flash. Above the two cars there is a bright light. The bright light seems to be a streetlight. Those are two good reasons that make me think that they are outside at night in the parking lot. The biggest thing that leads me to believe is that other than those two things in the background everything is dark like the night sky.
There are a few reasons why I think they are celebrating. One of the reasons that I think they are celebrating is that they are all crowded around each other, laughing and smiling. One of them has face paint on with his hand raised high in the air. The others all have their arms around each other, and one of the baseball players is on the back of one of his friends. Also if they would let someone from the apposing team, take a picture with them, because if they lost and were not celebrating I don’t think they would want someone to take a picture with them from the team that just beat them.
To someone just looking at this picture that was not there it shows friendship. It shows friendship because there all together laughing holding each other and just having fun with each other. I also don’t think that they would allow someone with the opposing teams sweat shirt be with them, or hang out with them if there wasn’t a great deal of friendship going on between them. Another example of friendship in this picture is for two kids to paint their faces and put the numbers of their friend’s faces to show the friendships. In conclusion, that picture represents the definition of youth.

concept revision

Family Revision 1

Biological relatives are only the tip of the iceberg when you talk about family. There are many other people who you can consider your family, and there are deeper meanings to the word. If you can understand the effect that your family has on you, you can distinguish the people in it. Your entire being is created by the people around you. Weather it’s your parents, grandparents, aunts. Uncles, and cousins, or the people you choose to put around you. In an article from the American Journal of Sociology, Professors Timothy Elblarz, and Adrian Raferty state that;” Children from single-father families and stepfamilies have consistently had lower attainments than children from both two-biological-parent and single-mother families.” ajs Volume 105 Number 2 (September 1999): 321–65. This shows a perfect example of what I mean. Obviously, your parents have the largest impact, because there who you learn how to make decisions from. Even so, everyone else in your life affects your personality as well.
Most groups see family as just blood relatives. I strongly disagree with that concept. Family is anyone who takes care of you, is honest with you, and you feel comfortable with. This includes best friends, team mates, band members, step parents, and so many more people. Sometimes I don’t count some of my blood relatives as my family. My Biological grandfather has never been in my life. He was never in my mother’s either. I don’t see him as family. My grandmother did remarry in 1992, and her husband since then I see as my true grandfather. He has been there since I was born, and even though he is technically my mother’s step father, he is considered blood. If you have a step father who has taken care of you more then your Biological father, wouldn’t that make him your “real” dad? Another group people don’t think about is your parent’s friends. II only have 3 aunts and uncles who are related to my parents, but there are a bunch of people I call my aunts and uncles, because they have been around my whole life. I see there kids as my cousins.
Your friends are a big part of your family. They are always there for you. Friends help you get through your problems, and you feel comfortable enough to be yourself with them. Most people spend the most curtail part of their life, adolescence with their friends. So friends are with you when you develop a sense of self, more then your relatives are. My best friend, and his parents, and brother, have all become part of my family. He is like my brother, and his parents are like my second set of parents. One year I was at their house more then I was at mine. Friends are a big part of your family.
Significant others play a big role in family as well. Whether you are 17 years old with a girlfriend, or you have been married for 50 years, that person has a similar role. They are the person who knows you the best. You tend to open up to that person the most. For the most part you share your home with them. They also help you start another part of your family. Kids and their family become your family. I have been with my girlfriend for 2 years and we have both become parts of each other’s families.
Family encompasses many people, and feelings. Anyone that you care about, and you feel comfortable with, and trust can be family. Your relatives and friends have the biggest influence on your personality, and your decision making. You may not be able to pick your relatives, but you can pick the rest of your family, but choose wisely.

weekend.

This weekend was a blast. I went home for the weekend and was able to see my family and friends. After i got through all the family dinners ect. i was able to go see my best friends. It was a great time. We were able to do all the things that we usually do, which include watching football, watching the games and going to gatherings with other friends. We watched the Red Sox win the first game in the playoffs and watched the Patriots get destroyed by the Chargers. The weekend was very fun. I had a great time and I enjoyed seeing my family again.

Football quarter season

Right now there are a few suprises in the NFL. The Bills are at 4-0, The Pats lost Tom Brady earley, and lost there first game in about a season and a half. The Bears are on a roll Beating Indionapolis in week one and the Eagles last week. Granted, there is a lt of football left to be played, it looks like there will be a lot of surprises. I can't wait to see how the season unfolds.

Presidential debate critics.