Passion

In high school I had two teachers that were so passionate about what they were teaching. The first teacher was my choir director, Mrs. Enwright. She was beyond passionate about music. I loved music to begin with but she made me love it even more. She put so much energy into the music that we performed and you could tell that teaching music made her happy. I think that everyone in that choir love music a little bit more because of her passion for it. The second teacher is Mrs. Peterson, she was my interpersonal relationship teacher. That class wasn't like any of my other classes. You found out your personality, your strengths and weaknesses and to find out who you depend on most...things like that. I thought the class was fun and interesting from the start. Mrs. Peterson told us stories from her life, things that have happened to her and how she got over these challenges. She had a lot of passion about the subject but about life as well and thats what the class focused on. Both Mrs. Enwright and Mrs. Peterson were passionate and enthusiastic in completely different ways but they were the best teachers who got everyone involved and interested in class.

Authenticity

I think that the limits for expressing authenticity for teachers are basically telling them things about you to connect with them. You don't exactly have to go in depth about your life, but you should show your authenticity by telling them things about you so that you can connect with them. I think that students can tell a teacher is being not authentic by not showing their students a "real" side of them. Like if they don't mention anything about themselves to the class such as talking about family members. I think that it makes it harder to connect with the teacher. I always felt it was easier to learn in a classroom where I felt comfortable with the teacher, like I had a connection with them. I think that's how authenticity is shown.

Compassion

My choir teacher in high school, Mrs. Enwright was by far the most compassionate teacher I have ever had. My junior year of high school her brother had killed himself. The week later we dedicated one of our songs to him. Mrs. Enwright made a point to each choir that she was there for each and every student if they were feeling depressed or stressed about anything. I didn't necessarily think of her as a teacher sometimes just because she always talked at a students level like she would act more as a friend. She made a difference in my life and also one of my best friends life just basically for being there for each of us when we needed someone to talk to. My friend, Susie, her mom died in march last year and a group of us sang the song that we dedicated to Mrs. Enwright's brother after he died. Mrs. Enwright showed up to the memorial and was there for all of us, especially Susie. It really showed her compassion for each student.

Respect

My definition of respect:
  - actually listening to a person and not interrupt them.
  - listening to a persons opinion and understanding where they are coming from.
  - paying attention to someone when something is being explained, like in class.

I think respect is shown in a classroom by the students listening to the teacher, the students not doing something interrupting (like talking or doing something not appropriate) while the teacher is talking or explaining something in class. Some other ways are the students raising their hands when they have a question or are trying to answer a question. The impact of respect in the classroom is necessary. Having respect in the classroom help maintain control of the classroom, children will listen and pay attention to the teacher if they respect him/her. If there isn't any respect in the classroom all the students would be disruptive and it would be very hard to maintain control of the classroom. I think that respect is best established in a classroom by showing the students that you are caring and compassionate but you should also be viewed as an authority figure.