Getting Along With My Difficult Teacher In Highschool

I had this teacher in highschool,Mrs Jennifer. For me she is inarguably the hardest teacher I had to contend with then. She joined the school in my first year,and I heard she's still teaching at my Alma mater,so that's probably more than 10 years of her teaching in my school

When she joined,she was assigned to our class to be our form teacher. She has to make sure nothing goes wrong in our class,had to make sure we paid our fees on time,she had to inform our parents about anything at all that required their knowledge, she's also the first person we'd report any mishap or mischief that goes on in her absence.We were placed under her care.
At first during our junior years,she was really good at what she did. She was kind,caring,homely and we all were really at ease with her.
She used to say she was our mother in school then and I won't argue that because she formed this motherly bond with us and we really liked her.
But as we,went higher and got in our senoir years,I notice a complete change in her personality.

She stopped being that warm and bubbly teacher we used to know. She changed so much from being caring and homely to being mean to her.

She used to teach 'Igbo' language then,which was our local dialect. We developed this fear of her all of a sudden,not like she caused any physical harm or anything but it seemed like the only business we were willing to her with her is listen while she teaches. You dare not make jokes carelessly while she's around,you dare not flaunt her orders when she gives them,and you dare not take her class as less serious. Any small misconduct or mischief does not go unnoticed by her. She'll make sure she thoroughly bath you with harsh words insults and the fact the she says everything in our dialect makes it even worse. Every harsh word she says cut through the heart and she makes sure you totally feel it.

Getting Along With Mrs Jennifer

Getting along with Mrs Jennifer was really hard. It's like trying to read a book for exams and never getting sense out of what you're reading no matter how much you tried. You cannot know what to say at a particular time that won't get her mad at you.

One thing that helped me to get along with her is trying to keep the good past in mind. Each time during every provocation and meltdown,I try to remember that there were days when she was kind, gentle and caring. It helped me not to judge her so much when she's having a bad time.

I also tried to put my myself in her shoes. First off,we were teenagers and had the tendency to do the opposite of everything thing we're told to do. Infact,we didn't like to be told what to do or how to do it,we like to be incharge. So,having someone who constantly tells us what to do is already a friction. I also remember how she tries to control the class especially when it comes to the boys and most of the back seaters,it can get really frustrating for her. She also has to handle other classes and deal with other students,the stress is real.
She may also be dealing with stress in her personal life and may sometimes transfer agression, we're all human beings after all.

Lastly,taking her classes seriously was the major thing I did. I started doing all her homeworks,class projects and everything. Teachers often value students who take classes seriously, it's also a way of encouraging them and making them their job to be less stressful. Even when I'm to tired to learn,just giving that listening ear goes a long to solve some problems that would have arised if I did otherwise

It's been few years since I left highschool and I can't possibly recount my highschool memories without mentioning her and the role she played in my education.

Did you have any teacher you found hard to put up with during your school days?