Famous Teachers and their Educational Reforms

Every instructor in a tutorial center in the Philippines uses different tutoring techniques to teach students how to pass a civil service exam, NMAT review, Philippines Science review or UPCAT review. Each type of review requires a fee. Some would prefer tutorial centers in Manila because of ease of access while other, inconveniently, have no choice but to move out from their family’s house and rent because it usually takes months to finish an entire session.

It would be considered a bonus if your instructor is one of the best in the faculty but, like parents, you can’t choose your teacher unless you dropout and moved onto the next one until you find the best among the rest. On top of that, prepare yourself to have not just a pep talk but a serious debate with your parents or guardian about this.

It is not the teaching materials or the current curriculum that defines the teacher but his teaching method or style – and oh, his dedication and commitment to his chosen vocation. In every point in history, teachers with exemplary performance are born. Here are some who are worth mentioning:

Socrates
A great philosopher of ancient Greece and was a teacher of Plato. Did you know he served in the military in the infantry division called hoplite? It was norm that Athenian men were required to enlist in the military and Socrates was pretty good at being a soldier, too. Back to his teaching career, he was quite revered by his students especially Plato who even mentioned him in his books. His greatest contribution to mankind is the Socratic Method. He taught his students by asking them lots of questions until they’ve arrived at a logical and sound solution. He didn’t bother once to look at a scroll for reference to be able to impart this knowledge.

Anne Sullivan
She was popularly called The Miracle Worker. A graduate of Perkins School for the blind in 1886, but before that she underwent several operations to prevent her from being blind. After her recovery, she became the teacher or governess of Helen Keller, a six year-old blind and deaf child. It helped that she also experienced being partially blind, so she was able to invent several techniques to face this impossible situation that others would not dare to put their hand into. One of her methods is to “write” on the palm of her student to spell out a word. Later on, Helen Keller would graduate from Radcliffe College and be the first deaf and blind to earn a bachelor’s degree in Arts. The rest, as they say, is history.

Friedrich Froebel
Imagine a childhood without kindergarten; no blocks of shapes, colorful picture-books or singing nursery rhymes. In 1837, he established the child’s garden or kindergarten designed for three to four year old kids. As stateuniversity.com stated, it is executed by “using play, songs, stories, and activities, the kindergarten was designed as an educational environment in which children, through their own self-activity, could develop in the right direction.” Thanks to this man, we have a memorable and fun childhood while we’re on the formative years of learning.

These are only the three of the famous teachers who promoted educational reforms that certainly made a significant improvement and change in order to streamline the education system we have today. Who do you think are modern contenders for these great educators?