Passion

Passion is important no matter what job you do. If you don't like what you do it shows in lack of productivity and lack of motivation. If you do like what you do, it makes your life (and the lives of those around you) so much better. My favorite example of this is a janitor for my middle school named Dwayne.
Dwayne was in his 40's or 50's when I was a student at Bettendorf Middle School. He was always seen with a smile on his face and a kind word on his lips. Even though he was dirty with ratty, long hair and missing teeth, everyone liked Dwayne. I was on the newspaper staff at the time and I decided to do an article on Dwayne. The teacher that oversaw the newspaper drove me and two other kids to Dwayne's house on a farm an hour away. His farm was as unkempt as his own appearance but his gentle personality showed as llamas, kittens, and an assortment of other farm animals let him pet them and returned the affection. Dwayne loved being around kids and everyone knew it and loved him for it. I moved on and went to high school and every football game when the marching band would go out to march, Dwayne would be hanging on the chain-link fence cheering us on. I graduated and returned to Bettendorf last fall break to go to a haunted house with some friends. Oddly enough, I ran into Dwayne there, waiting in line in front of us. He remembered all of our names, even though it had been 5 years since we were in middle school. Dwayne was passionate about being with kids, even though his job may not have been considered a respectable vocation. I remember Dwayne, a janitor, a lot better than I remember most of my middle school teachers.
Passion is so important. It was the passion of my high school spanish teacher that inspired me to become a spanish teacher. I want kids to have the best experience with spanish that they possibly can, even if they decide they don't like it. I hope my passion for the language is contagious and I hope that I am able to retain that passion as time goes on. Just like any friendship or relationship, it's sometimes necessary to change in order to spice things up. I think teaching will be similar and I'll need to change up some activities or ways of doing things so the students and I don't get bored.

Authenticity

People tell me that authenticity is one of my greatest qualities, but it can get me into trouble as well. My biggest problem has been curbing my authenticity so I don't offend people. In some cases, it's best to tell a white lie to keep a job, keep people on your good side, and stay out of trouble. In the classroom, authenticity will be a difficult but important thing to show. I think it will be best done by taking the qualities and some of the behaviors that truly reflect who I am and trying to use those as much as possible, avoiding expressing my opinion on controversial issues.
I had a teacher once who was too authentic. He bashed the principal behind his back and complained to us about the inner workings of the school. Although he was being authentic, he was taking negatives and passing them on to us. It influenced me a surprising amount; soon I was rolling my eyes at the principal just because of this teacher's opinion. I think the fact that he was authentic made me respect him and put a lot of value in what he said, but because those things were negative, they affected me in a negative way.
I plan on showing authenticity by limiting my compliments so they retain meaning and showing them how excited I am about the Spanish language. There's something about a teacher enjoying his or her subject that just cannot be faked. If a teacher is stuck teaching a subject they don't enjoy, it rubs off on the students and they begin to not enjoy it. I hope to make the most of my natural authenticity, allowing the students to more easily trust me and put value into what I say.

Compassion

I went to a big high school and it was almost unheard of to have a conversation with a teacher that was not centered around class material. When I got to Luther, I began to realize that most professors invested more in their classes than in high school and, on the flip side, students were expected to be personally invested as well. With the exception of larger classes that were lecture based or straightforward classes such as math, opinions and personal contributions became an important part of the class structure. My Paideia professor, Amanda Hamp, showed an incredible amount of compassion in the way she talked and interacted with the students in my Paideia class.

She was always open to suggestions of due dates (at least ones that were in her control to change) and suggestions on how to better run the class. Not only did she listen to our requests, but she did everything in her power to cater to them. She never verbalized disappointment in anyone's performance in front of the class and instead offered constructive criticism for the whole class, rather than picking on one person. She was very respectful of each individual's learning style and cognizant of each individual's writing style. Her compassion showed in the way she empathized with how much work we had to do for the research paper and the fact that she recognized we had other classes and obligations.

When I began struggling with my depression in February there were some days when I just couldn't get out of bed. I went in and talked with Amanda and she adjusted the way my participation was graded so my grade wasn't completely destroyed as a result. I didn't have to do less work, she just allowed me to do work in a way that was easier for me while I was getting my depression under control. Compassion, as lived out by Amanda, is truly caring for the all-around well-being of another person.

Respect

Respect is the consideration of the feelings of others, as well as consideration for yourself and your needs. In the classroom, respect is shown when students are attentive to the speaker, whether that be the teacher or another student and also when students try to learn that material. In that way, they are being respectful to themselves, allowing themselves the success they deserve. Teachers also have a responsibility to be respectful toward the students and be patient and encouraging, while recognizing each students' different approach to life. A respectful classroom tends to have students on better behavior than in a classroom where the students don't respect the teacher.
How is respect best established in the classroom? I have no idea. I suppose the teachers I respect most were considerate of my situation yet pushed me enough to motivate me to learn on days when I felt unmotivated. To get respect from students there needs to be a balance of discipline and consideration on the teacher's part and as for the teachers, well, they have to be respectful no matter what.