Gary Ragovin
Jan. 6, 2012, 4:09 p.m.
A recent study by economists at Harvard and Columbia showed that good teachers have a big effect on students’ lives beyond academics, in areas as varied as teenage-pregnancy and adult earnings. An article about the study, which appeared in The Times, said the researchers tracked 2.5 million students over 20 years. Reading about the study reminded Scott Menscher, journalism teacher at Edward R. Murrow High School, that last spring his own students also wanted to find out what defined a good teacher. “Our students went out and asked other students to talk about who they thought the best teachers were and why,” he said. “We wanted to find out why these teachers were successful.” Here is the report they wrote for the Murrow Network, published in April. It has been lightly edited.
By Melissa Kramer and Samantha Birns
Editors in Chief
Everyone has an opinion about what makes a good teacher — parents, the government, the mayor and other politicians. We decided to ask students at Edward R. Murrow High School what they think defines a good teacher.
What we found is that there’s more to a teacher than a test score, students told us when we approached about 100 of them in the hallways last spring with a list of questions that they filled out on the spot.
One of the things we asked them was for them to tell us what teacher they had liked best and why. The name of Gary Ragovin, a communication arts teacher, came up most often.
“He doesn’t follow the typical teaching structure,” said Dareen Generoso, a student. “It’s more interesting. His lessons are more realistic. During most lessons, we discuss personal goals and analyze ourselves.”
The Network was trying to pinpoint what qualities students like in a teacher and which methods motivate students to learn.
In an era where politicians are clamoring for teacher accountability through a series of standardized test, the newspaper is interested in what makes an effective teacher.
“I teach them about life. About what’s real. And I teach them about themselves,” said Mr. Ragovin. “If I’m not enjoying what I am teaching students, they’re not going to like what they learn.”
The survey indicated that teachers with 10 or more years of experience use methods that inspire students to learn, sometimes better than a younger, newer teacher might.
When asked, students said they enjoyed the class more if the subject was interesting and a funny teacher motivated them to do well in class.
That seems to be the case for Louis Frederick, a Communication Arts teacher, who students say often made literature fun.
“He’s very witty and intelligent,” said sophomore Eli Medina “I like how he keeps the class fun but keeps you thinking, too.”
Of course, students also praise Mr. Frederick for being “mad stupid deep.”
“He makes you think hard and outside the box,” said Mr. Medina.
According to the survey, Christine Hantzopulos, a Spanish teacher, also was highly effective. Her students commended her ability to relate her lessons to real life and use original techniques such as song-writing to make the learning process easier.
“She acts like a young person, not like an old person like the other teachers,” said junior Sasha Long. “She gives me good advice, and I enjoy going to her class all the time.”
Social studies teachers Ryan Mills, Erin Hanley, and Raluca Albu, as well as science teacher Joan Clemente, were also mentioned. Their students say that these individuals are fine educators because they are always prepared for their lessons and make sure that students understand the material.
“Ms. Clemente is a persistent teacher. Her lessons are always well-organized and clear” said student Ailana Musawa. “Somehow she notices everything that’s going on in the classroom and makes sure you’re trying.”
Of course, there are other factors that contribute to students’ opinions of a teacher.
“His beard,” said student Talha Naeem of favorite teacher Mr. Mills. “He also puts a lot of thought into his lessons and they’re very creative.”
my opinion..
as kids are going through school we have alot of distractions so it takes a good teacher to keep a student focused in class. in the article a good teacher is someone that relates class topics to real life situations, who is outgoing and fun to have as teacher. the only thing i would want to add in my opinion is that having a teacher that realizes students with different learning abilities and tries to look at class topics in differemt views to help all types of students that she/he will encounter; some kids learn thinking on a higher scale and some kids learn thinking more of an adolesence and i love when a teacher uses different examples and is able to help everyone at one time. being what is considered a "good teacher" by students is what makes a difference in schools because the government has a differemt opinion they look at test scores, well im sorry to say but its not all about test scores. some kids are just simply bad test takers because of anxiety or other disibilities such as ADHD. kids learn best when they can get along with a teacher and a teacher uses topics in a class that relates to what most teans experience. so that is what makes a good teacher to me and i agree with this article completely, they used multiple students in one school and had a good little study of what students consider a "good teacher"
By Melissa Kramer and Samantha Birns
Editors in Chief
Everyone has an opinion about what makes a good teacher — parents, the government, the mayor and other politicians. We decided to ask students at Edward R. Murrow High School what they think defines a good teacher.
What we found is that there’s more to a teacher than a test score, students told us when we approached about 100 of them in the hallways last spring with a list of questions that they filled out on the spot.
One of the things we asked them was for them to tell us what teacher they had liked best and why. The name of Gary Ragovin, a communication arts teacher, came up most often.
“He doesn’t follow the typical teaching structure,” said Dareen Generoso, a student. “It’s more interesting. His lessons are more realistic. During most lessons, we discuss personal goals and analyze ourselves.”
The Network was trying to pinpoint what qualities students like in a teacher and which methods motivate students to learn.
In an era where politicians are clamoring for teacher accountability through a series of standardized test, the newspaper is interested in what makes an effective teacher.
“I teach them about life. About what’s real. And I teach them about themselves,” said Mr. Ragovin. “If I’m not enjoying what I am teaching students, they’re not going to like what they learn.”
The survey indicated that teachers with 10 or more years of experience use methods that inspire students to learn, sometimes better than a younger, newer teacher might.
When asked, students said they enjoyed the class more if the subject was interesting and a funny teacher motivated them to do well in class.
That seems to be the case for Louis Frederick, a Communication Arts teacher, who students say often made literature fun.
“He’s very witty and intelligent,” said sophomore Eli Medina “I like how he keeps the class fun but keeps you thinking, too.”
Of course, students also praise Mr. Frederick for being “mad stupid deep.”
“He makes you think hard and outside the box,” said Mr. Medina.
According to the survey, Christine Hantzopulos, a Spanish teacher, also was highly effective. Her students commended her ability to relate her lessons to real life and use original techniques such as song-writing to make the learning process easier.
“She acts like a young person, not like an old person like the other teachers,” said junior Sasha Long. “She gives me good advice, and I enjoy going to her class all the time.”
Social studies teachers Ryan Mills, Erin Hanley, and Raluca Albu, as well as science teacher Joan Clemente, were also mentioned. Their students say that these individuals are fine educators because they are always prepared for their lessons and make sure that students understand the material.
“Ms. Clemente is a persistent teacher. Her lessons are always well-organized and clear” said student Ailana Musawa. “Somehow she notices everything that’s going on in the classroom and makes sure you’re trying.”
Of course, there are other factors that contribute to students’ opinions of a teacher.
“His beard,” said student Talha Naeem of favorite teacher Mr. Mills. “He also puts a lot of thought into his lessons and they’re very creative.”
my opinion..
as kids are going through school we have alot of distractions so it takes a good teacher to keep a student focused in class. in the article a good teacher is someone that relates class topics to real life situations, who is outgoing and fun to have as teacher. the only thing i would want to add in my opinion is that having a teacher that realizes students with different learning abilities and tries to look at class topics in differemt views to help all types of students that she/he will encounter; some kids learn thinking on a higher scale and some kids learn thinking more of an adolesence and i love when a teacher uses different examples and is able to help everyone at one time. being what is considered a "good teacher" by students is what makes a difference in schools because the government has a differemt opinion they look at test scores, well im sorry to say but its not all about test scores. some kids are just simply bad test takers because of anxiety or other disibilities such as ADHD. kids learn best when they can get along with a teacher and a teacher uses topics in a class that relates to what most teans experience. so that is what makes a good teacher to me and i agree with this article completely, they used multiple students in one school and had a good little study of what students consider a "good teacher"
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