By Tyler Dawson - former student

A good teacher compared to a bad teacher always will make a difference in your learning and often quite a big difference. In a class like gym, the difference between a good and bad teacher isn’t as important as a class like math where a good teacher helps a lot more. However, the biggest difference between a bad teacher and a good teacher is in the sciences. The different sciences are often regarded as some of the hardest classes you can take in high school and for good reason; chemistry, biology, and physics are all hard classes that you need to apply yourself if you want to do well. Since the classes are some of the most difficult a good teacher can help you understand the material better and can help you catch up if you get behind on anything. Although those sciences are some of the hardest classes you can take, classes like calculus and vectors, and advanced functions are also very difficult. Despite all those classes being very hard, there is one main reason why I believe the sciences have the biggest teacher impact and that is because they have the ability to make classes much more enjoyable and even fun at times.

In general, the more difficult the class, the more it is necessary to get a good teacher. That is why I would have the hardest classes such as the sciences, advanced functions, and calculus and vectors near the top of the list in terms of teacher impact. The way I decided which classes have higher teacher impact when the difficulty of the class is similar is by determining which class the teacher can make more enjoyable. The only way you can teach math is by simply explaining and showing the material compared to a class like physics where you can have demos, have a lab, watch videos, etc., all of which are much more entertaining than just looking at a whiteboard or a screen for the whole class. Throughout high school, I would say I have had two, ten out of ten teachers. One of these teaches math, one teaches chemistry. Although I did well in both classes I enjoyed chemistry more and it is simply because there is no way for a math teacher to make their classes more entertaining compared to a chemistry teacher that can do engaging labs and demos. In grade 9 science I had one of the worst teachers I have ever had, she wasn’t good at teaching the material, nor was she good at keeping the students engaged and excited about class. She was overall about a two out of ten teacher. The difference between how much I learned and enjoyed that class, as opposed to the chemistry class I referenced, is just a colossal difference. My personal experience with teachers matches my thesis and this further shows why having a good science teacher is so vital.

The importance of a good teacher, in general, cannot be underestimated. Teachers have a chance to impact children’s lives and that is what great teachers do. Professor John Hattie, Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne and a lead investigator in the Science of Learning Research Centre, conducted a study of which influence affected student learning the most. Unsurprisingly teachers are by far the most influential factor in student learning ahead of things like class size, available technology, and individual instruction. Good teachers have a chance to change a student’s life forever in some cases and in every case, they will help all their students and make their life better. Good teachers are always important and impactful on students, but none are more impactful than a good science teacher.