What exactly makes a good teacher? Their ability to cram knowledge into kids skulls? Or is it judged by how nice they can be? To some, it is determined by how professional of a relationship teachers keep with their students, and how much the teacher is willing to share about themselves to their class, as seen by Ms Watson (from Mona Lisa Smile) and my old French teacher, Mme Haveman.
The major thing Ms Watson and Mme Haveman have in common is that they are both very strict teachers. Neither of them take any nonsense from their students, which is surprising considering they were both new teachers to their schools. Ms Watson did let her girls get to her on her first day of Art History, but she soon gained her footing by scrapping the syllabus and aimed to teach her girls about more than just art. Mme Haveman never seemed to let her students get to her, no matter how mean they were to her. She always kept a straight face and told everyone to do what they were told.
Another thing both teachers had in common was that they were both very dedicated. Ms Watson was dedicated to the progression of women and trying to change the way they think about their futures. Mme Haveman was very dedicated in teaching her students the French language and culture. Ms Watson was so dedicated that when the Headmistress of her school wanted to approve every single lesson Watson was going to teach in the upcoming year, she left. Being restricted like that, restricted in trying to show girls that marriage isn't their only option, was not what she wanted. Mme Haveman was so dedicated to the French culture that her students would watch the French news, movies, and cartoons (with no subtitles!) and discuss them with her.
One small difference that both teachers had was that while Mme Haveman was very kind to her students, Ms Watson was extremely passionate about her line of work. Mme Haveman did her best to connect with her students, offering tutoring and test make-ups while most of the other teachers at her school didn't do that. Ms Watson was also passionate about teaching women that they can be more than just a housewife, that they can be married and work and have a family - they can have it all, if they put their mind to it. Mme Haveman was passionate about her line of work, but she just didn't show it like Ms Watson did.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Ms Watson and Mme Haveman is that Mme Haveman never let her personal life get in the way of her teaching, and she also never spoke much of her personal life to her students. In the movie, Mona Lisa Smile, it is shown that Ms Watson let her personal life get the best of her when she burst into the Italian classroom in a rage. Mme Haveman never let her emotions carry her away like that
Though Ms Watson and Mme Haveman are both very different in how they express their personal life around their students, they are very similar in how kind and dedicated they are to teaching. There is no doubt that they are both very good teachers. A good teacher should always have that quality - the desire to want to teach to their students.
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