Question
Describe a teacher who influenced you.
Sample answer
I have met and liked several teachers in different years of my academic life. Among them Mr. (...say the name of the teacher...). He used to teach us history in our higher secondary level.
The first attractive quality he had is his well manner and eloquence. He was a great teacher and we all liked his style of teaching. We were very surprised to know that he knew a lot about history and when he taught us, he told lots of relevant stories which made the classes more interesting. He did not believe in homework so he always gave tasks which we had to finish during our classes. Because of him, we did well in the board exam in History. Besides his great way of teaching, he taught us morality, importance of education and how to value the morality and time.
He influenced us to read books and history books outside our syllabus which turned out to be very useful later in our lives. He inspired us to read English newspapers, journals, watch history related channels, technology and history related magazines. He was talented and very friendly to the students. He never turned down anyone whenever someone asked for his help and advice. He had an athletic body and we found him often participate in different outdoor games. He inspired us to do physical exercises and outdoor games.
In short, he was an exemplary person and an ideal teacher whom most of the students liked and respected very much. I have been greatly influenced by his punctuality, honesty, talent and good behavior. I still remember him and the advices he gave me.
Tips for answering the Cue Card Topic:
To answer this cue card take note on the following points:
Teacher name
What subject did he/ she take
In which class/ level s/he taught
His / her teaching style
Things I learned from him
How s/he influenced me to do better in life.
What motivation did I get from his teaching/ personality/ advices?
After you take notes on the above listed points, you would be very easily able to talk about this Cue Card topic.
Teacher Name: Say a name you remember of one of your teachers. Don't spend time on recalling a teacher's name. You can say a fictitious name as well.
What subject did he/ she take: The major in which you graduated should be subject you liked in your academic years and a teacher who has influenced you should also encourage you to do your graduation on this subject as well. But there is good possibility that you liked a teacher who took history class and you later on did your graduation in Math. So in this case mention how the teacher has influenced you to learn more about history and how his/ her advices inspired you to explore the subject. There can be an entirely different situation when the teacher has influenced you on something else than the subject s/he taught. For instance, you might have learned about some moral lessons from your teacher that later changed your course of action.
In which class/ level s/he taught: Usually we get some inspiring teacher in our school level and university level. Mention the exact class he took and how old you were then.
His / her teaching style: Exemplary teachers usually have some unique way of teaching. A good teacher makes the tough subjects interesting. S/he must tell lots of interesting stories and references outside of the academic books and always inspire students morally and academically. Apart from that, the teacher would explain the importance of education, how education can help you explore yourself and the world, how education flourishes the human quality and your responsibilities as a student and human being. Apart from the academic lessons, they talk about lots of interesting topics and issues. They usually make the lesson interesting and have a great ways of delivering the lessons to the students. Finally a good teacher does not pressurize the students to read around the clock and always patiently answer the questions of the students. They invite questions and do a friendly interaction with the students rather than only delivering lessons.
Things I learned from him: A student learns many things from a good teacher. First thing s/he learns is the importance of education and morality in life. S/he learns different information from the subject and outside of academic subjects. He learns the responsibility, essential quality of a good citizen, get inspiration to become a good human being and finally learn the importance of education.
How s/he influenced me to do better in life: Usually a teacher influences a student with his way of teaching, his/ her own personal characters/ morality/ honesty/ bravery, with the advices s/he delivers to the students and the information s/he delivers to the students. A student can be also influenced with the good advises he/she receives from a teacher.
While answering this cue card emphasize on the teacher’s great teaching style, motivational speeches, interesting and easy way s/he adopted to explain intricacies issues, his/her own personality and morality and things you have learned from him/ her. You should also mention how you have applied the things you learned from him/ her or how those things have changed your course of actions in life.
