Scales 1

Brhea Scales
Professor Blair
URWT 1104
19 September 2016
Biologically the Worst Teacher Ever
The study of life is not so simple. There are simple cells, as time advances the cells do
too; as the complexity of cells excels, so does the material of the not so simple biology course.
Mrs. Barkes, one of many biology teachers at Panther Creek High School, was a complex person
herself. As the class continued, the complexity of her teaching characteristics developed more in
depth. Mrs. Barkes was nothing like the sweet southern bell personality she expressed. Do not let
the conservative look fool you, she was a feisty little thing; always knowing what she wants and
how she wants it, she was sharp in her ways and expected the best from all her students. By far
Mrs. Barkes is the worst teach I have ever had because of the slack in communication to the
class, a negative relationship, and her high expectations.
Biology is a class that involves little to no problem solving, but demands attention to
learn, store, encode the information, and then later recall the given material. It was a fourth
period class, the last of the day. Minds wander and the last thing a student wants is to receive is a
lecture, day after day. There was little interaction to keep the class engaged and drew a
disconnect. For the class as a whole it was difficult enough to pay attention, but Mrs. Barkes
teaching style could bore the class asleep in itself. Throughout the semester we were to complete
a composition book filled with organisms we had viewed during microscope activities, small
group activities completed in class, along with individual work done outside of class. It was

Scales 2
made clear at the beginning of the semester that the book was to have periodic checks during the
course for a completion grade, but when supposable due dates arrived the class was hit by the
element of surprise. No one would be aware that books were to be collected when Mrs. Barkes
would call to collect. I remember her saying, this is only helping you prepare for college, no
professor is going to be your mom and hold your hand through the process. But there is a
process to gaining the independence of learning. Keep in mind this was only sophomore year,
many of my peers were not driving. In response to her help for preparation to college speech I
pointed out that the process to gaining independence is built off of during the total four years of
high school. Certain things should be clearly communicated to students in order for us to learn.
My sophomore year was the hardest time I have ever been through in my life. For the
first time I thought I had found a strong sense of myself; I was for once embracing my peers in
friend groups, enjoyed the company of my soccer friends, had a group of girls to meet up with
every day before class, but on in a single day my life changed forever. On October 9th, 2013 my
great aunt was found dead in her home. Unlike most deaths this was a homicide. If there is one
thing to know about my family dynamics is that blood is thicker than water and through all trials
family will be there till the end. As soon as word reached my mom I was awoken by her reaction
to the treacherous news and approached her in the hallway. I remember feeling words Aunt
Mickey was killed piercing through my chest as I instantly fell to my knees. We franticly
packed to travel to Greensboro and that was the beginning to my decent attendance record
crumbling to pieces. Death is sad in every way, but never had I experienced grief in such a way
that each day it was hard to want do anything. Physically, emotionally, mentally I was distraught,
but in all my class teachers were understanding to the fact I had lost an important person in my
life, all except Mrs. Barkes. This tragedy took a toll on me in such a damaging way that there

Scales 3
was reason behind why I was absent from class and wasnt meeting deadlines. For example, the
day after the finding of my aunt I had an assignment due in psychology; when it took me two
extra weeks to finish my teacher, Mr. Thorpe, still took my work because he understood I needed
time to go through the healing process to at least function day by day. Unlike the rest of my
understanding teachers who wouldnt complain when I needed to step out in the middle of
English class because all of the violent scenes of Hotel Rwanda made me cringe, or to put my
head down in the middle of class and take a second and draw myself back in to the classroom
environment there was no penalization. I was vulnerable and to make things worse Mrs. Barkes
did not see that the slight bit of motivation I did apply in her class was all I had within me to do.
Our relation developed to only represent the negative; she did not see how our relationship
correlated along with my class performance.
As the semester came to an end it was time for teachers to place their opinions for future
science classes they feel a student is capable of success. I saw myself to be an honors student and
did not want that to change. Mrs. Barkes had expectations set so that if you were not making an
A in her class it could not be achieved in any other science course. When it came time to discuss
her class pick for me, she insisted academic chemistry is best track. Dont take honors
chemistry, you wont make an A and will struggle to even get a B. Youll be a C student in the
class, I remember her say to me. I carried that with me and decided I will prove her thinking
wrong. Missing class is not beneficial for anyone, but the expectation was set high by Mrs.
Barkes to be in attendance of every class. Because I missed more days than one could count on
hand it became harder for Mrs. Barkes to accommodate playing catch up with my schedule. I lost
all interest. Situationally I struggled to perform in her class; the expectation of me to continue to

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have a driven focus in a class with a teacher I like in the slightest and barely respect, was
unrealistic.
Although the class was about the study of life I departed learning less about life but more
about the experience. I learned the importance of relationships and how they contribute to overall
motivation. Mrs. Barkes had the inability to see class potential, showed no support, and stripped
my confidence; I will forever strive for what I want and will not allow other people to set my
limitations. In conclusion Mrs. Barkes is good at being the worst teacher biology has let teach its
course.