M Inspiring Teacher
Story As Told To She Magazine
feature story
• Photography by Lica Rogers
Morgan Rogers
on Inspiring Teacher,
Dr. Sharon O ’Kelley
T
ransitioning from high school to
college can be a scary, uncertain time
of in the lives of young students as they
encounter
new
and
different
experiences. Thankfully, this season of change in my
life was made easier due to the care and concern
shown to me by one of my professors, Dr. Sharon
O’Kelley. As an Early Childhood Education major
at Francis Marion University, I had the privilege of
having Dr. O’Kelley as my very first mathematics
professor in college. I will never forget her. She
has inspired me to be the best student and future
teacher I can be. She has shown me that there is no
limit to what I can achieve in life, particularly when it
comes to my career choice.
Dr. O’Kelley’s teaching style is very different from
any other mathematics instructor I have ever had.
She was a very hands-on teacher. She is set apart
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AUGUST 2017
from other teachers by the fact that they oftentimes
have difficulty trying to become a student again.
Dr. O’Kelley never had that trouble. Since the math
courses she taught me are only offered to education
majors, Dr. O’Kelley not only instructed her students
how to teach math, but she also emphasized the
importance of us looking at math through the eyes
of an unknowing student, rather than a college
educated teacher. She taught me how to change
my way of thinking as a teacher in order to relate
to my future students. She would tell us that, when
we teach math, we need to remember that it is the
students’ first time seeing it, so we need to show them
every mathematical step in order for it to make sense.
Instead of having us merely memorize the material,
she would break it down and explain it to us, be-
cause what might be simple for a college educated
teacher can be extremely hard for a young student to
understand. Dr. O’Kelley would demonstrate two or
more ways of teaching the material, always stressing
the importance of knowing there is more than one
way to teach, since there is more than one way to
learn. In class, we would use pictures, numbers, and
objects, such as blocks and shapes, to explain our
work. Not only did I benefit from her multiple ways
of teaching, but my future students will also be able
to benefit as I teach them these different ways to
complete
and
understand
their
work.
One day when I am a teacher, I hope to be just like
Dr. O’Kelley. Because of her, I have learned that
patience and kindness are the keys I need in order
to be a teacher who truly impacts the lives of her
students. These two factors make the connection
between student and teacher stronger, not only
inside the classroom, but outside as well.
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