Q: Were there any teachers you looked up to when you were a student?
A: In elementary school, my 5th grade teacher was great. He went out of his way to make each lesson very interesting, and he tried to include extra topics for us to look into on our own if we were interested. Every class has good students and poor students, so often a teacher has to choose between focusing on the students who struggle and those who excel. But in this case, my teacher did a great job of making sure we all got a good education from him.
In junior high, I had a social studies teacher who was my favorite. He spoke to us as adults, and did his best to explain everything he could with facts, without bias. He taught me a lot not just about social studies, but about being a good person. It is because of him that I never spoke down to my son when he was little. Many people talk down to children, or treat them like they cannot understand difficult concepts. Because of the way my teacher always spoke to us as humans with our own brains, I realized how important it is for children to be spoken to with honesty.
(和訳)
Q: 学生の頃、尊敬していた先生はいる？
A: 小学校のときは、５年生の先生が素晴らしかったわ。先生独自のやり方で一つ一つの授業をとても面白くしてくれた。興味があれば私たちが自分で調べることができるように補助テーマも組み込むようにされていたわ。どのクラスも出来のよい生徒、芳しくない生徒がいるので、先生は、あまりできない生徒とよくできる生徒を注目しつつその中間を選ばなければならないわよね。でも、私の先生はよくやってくれて、私たちはみんな確実に彼からよい教育を受けたわ。
中学のときは、大好きな社会の先生がいたのよ。私たちのことを大人としてみて話してくれて、最大限努力して、偏見を入れることなく、事実に基づいて説明してくれたわ。社会科だけでなく、良き人間であることについても教えてくれた。私が息子が小さいときでも息子を下に見て話をしなかったのは彼のおかげよ。子供を見下して話したり、難しい概念はわからないとして子供を扱ったりする人はたくさんいるわよね。先生がいつも私たちに対し頭脳を持つ人間として語りかけてくれたおかげで、子供が正直に語りかけられることの重要性がわかったわ。
