After a lifetime full of teaching, social studies teacher Matt Winter thinks it’s time to call it quits.
While he says he feels burnt out, his students report he’s still loud and energetic, which can completely change a student’s negative opinion on the topic, class, or even school. “Mr. Winters’s personality and getting to know his students is a step above what most teachers do,” sophomore Jeremy Shapiro said.
Teachers do things that keep students engaged and happy. A teacher making a funny joke or doing something nice for a student can completely flip a student’s mood. “My favorite moments have been some of the jokes he’s made about politics which help to keep us awake and active so late in the day,” Shapiro said.
Impacts and lasting effects are left on people all the time, however, none are more significant than teachers’ impacts on students. Teachers long to make positive and long-term impacts on their students. “Hopefully they have an impact, where all their life they’ll remember to be positive,“ Winter said.
Teaching isn’t just about teaching students specific contents of the courses they teach. Teachers put pressure on themselves to teach students more than just the curriculum, they feel the urge to teach life lessons as well. “The old cliche is it’s not just what you learn, it is that you foster a love for learning,” Winter said.
Although times have changed significantly through the years, core things don’t change. “You know, kids are kids, and while there are some differences in 2023 than there were in 1990, some kids will try hard, some won’t, some teachers will burn out, some won’t. People are the same as they were in 12 B.C. as they are now,” Winter said.
Humans go through ups and downs, regardless of whether we like it or not. We all have different challenges and different successes, and teachers are no different. “I’ve been frustrated in recent years,” Winter said.
Teachers have different rationales for why they do what they do. The most popular among teachers is that they either like teaching, like kids, or both. “I enjoy working with young people, I was the assistant manager in a store, and I was in charge of a lot of young cashiers,” Winter said.
Students like different types of teachers, however, most students feel that an engaging teacher is a good one. “His teaching style is very engaging and shows that he’s trying,” freshman Ava Wang said.
Students love it when they are able to feel a connection with their teachers. Students have lives outside of school, and students love it when teachers take an interest in it. “My favorite moments this year have been when he pointed out what I dressed up as for volleyball spirit days,” Wang said.
