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Writing Comprehension Test for 10^th Form Students

The Creation of the Teacher

            The good Lord was creating teachers. It was his sixth day of “overtime” and he knew that this was a tremendous responsibility for teachers would touch the lives of so many impressionable young children. An angel appeared to him and said, “You are taking a long time to figure this one out.”

“Yes,” said the Lord, “but have you read the specs on this order?”

            TEACHER must:

• stand above all students, yet be on their level;
• be able to do 180 things not connected with the subject being taught;
• have more time for others than himself;
• have a smile that can endure through pay cuts and problematic children;
• go on teaching when parents question every move and others are not supportive;
•  have six pair of hands.

“Six pair of hands,” said the angel, “that’s impossible.”

‘Well,” said the Lord, “ it is not the hands that are the problem. It is the tree pairs of eyes that are presenting the most difficulty! One pair can see a student for what he is and not what others have labeled him as. Another pair of eyes is in the back of the teacher’s head to see what should not be seen, but what must be known. The eyes in front are only to look at the child as he or she ‘acts out’ in order to reflect, “I understand and I still believe in you’ without so much as saying a word.”

“Lord,” said the angel, “this is a very large project and I think you should work on it tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “for I have come very close to creating some thing much like myself. I have one that comes to work when he or she is sick, teachers those children that do not want to learn, has a special place in his or her heart for children who are not his or her own, understands the struggles of those who have difficulty...”

“Well, Lord,” said the angel, “your job looks fine but there is a leak. You were putting too much into this model. You cannot imagine the stress that will be placed upon the teacher.”

“It is not a leak,” said the Lord. “It is a tear.”

“A tear? What is that?” asked the angel. “What is a tear for?

The Lord replied with great thought, “It is for the joy and pride of seeing each child accomplish even the smallest task. It comes from the pain of not being able to reach some children and the disappointment those children feel in themselves.”

“My,” said the angel, “the tear is a great idea.”You are a genius!”

The Lord looked somber, “I did not put it there.”

There is a proverb which states that a student can follow only so far as a teacher can lead.

-            What teacher has been most influential in the development of your

       education?

-         How has his teaching style helped you learn?

-         What methods does your favorite teacher use that other teachers do not?

-         If you became a teacher, which methods would you use?