Passion for Teaching and Learning

If someone asked me the name of my favourite teacher from kindergarten to high school, it would be easy to answer. Personally, I have been to seven schools in five different countries, my experience varying from year to year due to the knowledge I learned throughout the years. The setting in which I learn and really does matter, and for this reason, my high school teachers and my new university professors are not the same. I believe that the main focus of high school teachers is to make sure that the student is learning, preparing them for their higher education. However, university professors are different, they are there to help me in different ways; in this new setting making sure that I am learning is my job. After all, I am an adult now, right? University is vastly different than high school for so many reasons. One of the biggest differences I have personally noticed is the way that professors interact with students compared to the way teachers interact with high school students. Most of my professors go out of their way to schedule at least an extra hour of their time in order to help anyone. Office hours were intimidating at first, but once I went and started a discussion with someone so knowledgeable about the topic which I am studying, I relaxed and realized I was in really good hands. At first, I was afraid of going to the office hours, and after really thinking about it I realized that I much rather learn from a living breathing person other than learning by myself from my textbook. When I attended my first office hour for math I got to actually engage in the essence of learning. The best part of the entire experience was I wasn't alone and I got to listen to the concerns of others. Being there made me notice that just spending one hour of my time, I get to enrich my learning experience by just being nearer to my professor and my classmates. I found that learning is made easier by attending these office hours. I tend to go to them even if I understand the material being covered because it is an extra hour of interactive learning. On the other hand, going to lectures is not about actually learning the material in class but instead broadening my understanding of the information with the help of the professors who are really passionate about the subjects that they teach. Many of my professors have other professional engagements - some are writers and some have other businesses or activities. These qualities demonstrate the level of education that I am receiving and further prove the passion of my instructors for the subjects they teach.