There are a few characters in this story, they go by the pseudonyms Mr. S, Ms. L, Mr. T, and my dad.
My least favourite teacher was an old man I had for pre-calculus 10. He had the most monotone voice of anyone I'd met. He didn't seem inspired about the material in the slightest. His class was one of the most boring I ever took (up there with Socials 11). Even when we did stuff beyond rote questions, like a little project, he somehow still made it boring!
My dad is unfortunately one of my least favourite math teachers. He's not that awful, but he is pretty bad at explaining things, and he tends to get upset if I'm not swayed by his explanation. It usually ends up being me doing emotional labour for him while he tries to remember stuff from when he was in high school. Overall, he is overconfident in his knowledge.
Mr. T was not always great at explaining things, but he had a method for grading tests that really resonated with me. If you failed a test, he'd make you re-take it at the end of the year, and you would need to re-take the tests as many times as it took to get a passing (50%) grade. There were so many of my classmates who told me how much they appreciated this policy. I talked about this policy in my admissions essay to the program, because I think it's so valuable that students experience failure without making it the end of the world.
My favourite math teacher was also for pre-calculus 10 (I had two teachers that year). Her name was Ms. L, and she was very kind, and she took her job seriously, but not too seriously -- she let us watch movies sometime, and I was introduced to Howl's Moving Castle, one of my favourites. I'm not even sure if she was that effective at explaining the math, but her attitude was really great and I actually enjoyed math class with her.
I loved reading this — the way you described your teachers (and your dad!) really brought personality into the reflection. The line about your pre-calc teacher making even a project boring made me laugh, but it also showed how much delivery and energy matter.
ReplyDeleteWhat really stood out, though, was your point about Mr. T’s retake policy. That’s such a strong insight: failure doesn’t have to be final, and you captured beautifully how a single grading approach can reshape how students feel about learning.
And your affection for Ms. L shone through — you showed that sometimes the attitude and care a teacher brings is just as memorable as their explanations. That’s a great reminder for future practice. This was sharp, funny, and thoughtful — really well done.