Topic I. The teacher who influenced you a lot:

Topic I.   The  teacher who influenced   you a  lot:  

Active  vocabulary that  must be used:

it is  worth mentioning

the desire to  get knowledge

to be  inherent

to  feel a strong necessity

the requirements of the  society.                             

to focus the    attention  on 

a good  school  must  fit a child, not a child  fit the school

an  opportunity not  only to  study but to  develop

to  remember  vividly

to be in the  memory and in the  heart (forever)

to influence smb/smth a lot

the  choice of the  career

a school selected for the  education

to aim at  being (a  kind of)

smth (everything) provided by the  authorities

highly  qualified  specialists   

to wear  uniform (to be neatly  dressed)

to arrive at the  establishment 

to go with  mixed feeling (of joy and  some  hidden  fear)

to  smile  radiantly 

to converse in the  most easy  manner

to be  preoccupied with the  fear

to make a  bad start

to be  strongly convinced 

to have  smb to  trust to

to be (feel) miserable at the  idea of (being  left alone)

to be  all  lessons

departing steps of  smb

to die  away

to  produce smth  smb has in  his/her possession

to encourage smb

to praise smb

hate breeds  hate and   love breeds  love

to approve of smb

an essential quality  

to be  innately wise and  realistic

according to the  purpose of  the educator  

to determine smth

Approximate  /  average  topic:                    

The teacher who influenced  you a lot

         I would like to begin  my  topic with  a  little  meditation  about schools and  education  in  general. It is  worth mentioning that schools  have always  been  the life and sole of any educated and  cultured  society.  The desire to  get knowledge was  inherent even to  ancient  people. It is a  safe  assumption to  assume that at that very  historical  moment when  our ancient  ancestor  began  to  feel himself a part of a large world and  began to  investigate  this  immense  world  he  might have  felt a  strong necessity   to transfer his  knowledge to   future  generations. So  schools  as  places of  education and  culture  began to appear. And as  the  centuries were  changing  one  another  schools  were  also  changing  due  to  the requirements of the  society.                            

         Schools  all over the  world in our  days  focus their  attention  on  the  child’s personality. As  the  director of one  school said “a good  school  must  fit a child, not a child  fit the school”. During  the  school years  children  must have  an opportunity not  only to  study but to  develop.

         I  vividly  remember my  school  years. It seems to me  they’ll  be in my  memory and  my heart  forever. And I am sure that it wouldn’t be  surprising if   I say that   the  most vivid  pictures  I still  have in my memory  are  those of  my  first  days  at school and of my last school year. And  speaking about  the  teacher who influenced me I lot  I want to  say  that it was  my  first school  teacher.  My  be  her personality, professional qualities  and her love for children  influenced my choice of the career later.  Of course  being  a  schoolgirl  of  junior classes I  couldn’t understand  that,  but it  was  deep in  my  mind and  my  heart.

         The school  my parents  had  selected for  my  education  was  one of the best in our  district and  it  modeled itself  upon secondary schools  specialized in  foreign  languages  and aimed at being  preparatory for the University above all  others.  We had  only  twenty  pupils in  class – ten  boys and  ten girls, two  up-to-date computer classrooms (then a  wonder),  spacious  football  grounds and even  a swimming pool – everything was  provided by the authorities.  All the  teachers  were  highly  qualified specialists,  having  not  only  higher education but  even  scientific degrees. Teachers and  schoolchildren didn’t  have to  wear uniforms but they were  always  neatly  dressed.  Our school  was  a  place you  always  was  eager  to  go to,  you  just  rushed in the  morning and  didn’t  want to  leave  after  classes  looking for any reason to stay  just  for  a  little  longer.

           So it  was a bright September morning when my parents and I arrived at the  establishment.  I  had a  nice  dress on and  carried  a beautiful bag  my  parents had  bought to me  just recently.   Besides,  my  parents  explained  to me  beforehand that  I  was to  meet  a person who’ll  become  the  most important in my  life during the  next few  years – my  first  teacher. And on  the way  to school we  bought a  beautiful bunch of  flowers for her. I  was  going to  school  with  mixed  feelings of  joy and  some  hidden  fear -  fear of something  new and  unknown  waiting  for me  ahead.  And  then  there we  were………I saw  a  very  nice  lady  smiling  radiantly to  us,  it was  my first  teacher.  I  knew at  once that  I  loved her, she was so  nice!!!  So we  met  my first  teacher with  whom my parents  conversed in the  most easy manner. I  kept  silent  as I was preoccupied with  a fear of saying something  wrong  and  so making a  bad start – all I dreamt about at  that  time was to  produce the  best  influence  on  the  teacher, to show  my   best  qualities and  abilities.  Some  years  later we  talked to  her about  that  day and  she  laughed  saying  that  I really  did my best and  she also  loved  me  and  we immediately  became  great    friends!  I am strongly convinced that  the  first  teacher must be  not only a  teacher but  the  best  friend  for  a  child, as  junior  children  only  begin their  school life, are  afraid of  so many things and  need somebody to  trust to. And it  is  really good when  they  trust  their teacher as  she  spends a  lot  of time with  children,  sometimes  more than  parents do.

        Going to  school for  the  first time  I was  miserable at the  idea of  being  left alone in  that new and  unknown  place  among all the strangers.  I was  so happy at  home among all my toys;  I had so  many wonderful toys -  a lot of  dolls, balls,  games, etc.   Then  it was  to be  all lessons – four or  five  lessons  every day, except week ends and  four  holidays a year and  some school  treats  in addition. 

         When the first school holiday was over and  the  departing  steps  of my parents  had died away  our  form teacher showed  us into  our  classroom which  actually  had  become our real home for the  first  three   years.  It was a  large and very  light  room with  four  windows  and  a  lot of  flowers on  the  walls and  on the  window-sills.  Our  teacher  tried to decorate  it  for  us – her  new  children -   there  were  balloons  and  pictures  everywhere. So our  school  life began!

        Without  any  doubt we  were still very  young and could not comprehend all the seriousness of the  moment.  Many  boys  and  girls  carried their  favourite toys to  school – they  were  just  kids in  their hearts,  kids who  had  recently been  so  happy in their  nurseries.   The teacher at  once  asked us to   produce all the  toys  we had in our  possession -  she showed  us  a little  table  in  the back  corner  of the classroom  and   told us to  put  all  our  toys  there for  a  day. She explained that  our  dolls and  soldiers,  teddy bears and  toy dogs would be waiting for  us there  till we  studied.

         Our teacher was  really  a   nice and  a  kind  lady.  She had  become  a  real mother to all of  us.  She was  tender and  strict  enough when that quality  was  necessary.  She was broad-minded,   really  knew  a  lot and  taught us a lot.   She was very  active  and energetic and  we  organized a  lot of  parties and  activities.  But  on the other hand  she was  gentle  and  kind as real  mother is.  She  always  encouraged  us  when we  could not  do something and  praised when she saw that  we  did  our best.  She  was  proud of us. She loved us:  “Hate  breeds hate and love breeds love”. Love  means approving of  children and  that was  an essential quality of  our  first teacher.

       She really believed that  every  child was  innately  wise and  realistic.  She allowed everybody to  develop  his  or her abilities and did everything to  help. She was  sure that the  function of the  child was    to live his own  life – not the  life that anxious  teachers or parents  want  him to  life,  nor the  life according to the  purpose of  the  educator

        So summing  up  everything I said above I  want to say that  that  person really did a lot  for  me,      produced a great  influence on me   and  determined my  future life and  my choice of the  career.  It was  mostly for  her that I  decided to enter the University choosing    the career of  the teacher.