COMPARISON AND CONTRAST ESSAY SAMPLE

TWO TEACHERS I HAD AS A KID

I see myself being a little girl and wearing my blue and white school uniform while Mrs. Williams
was joyfully playing the piano and encouraging us to sing along an English nursery rhyme like
“The wheels of the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round…”. I also see
myself feeling threatened by Mrs. Reese while taking and exam having been forbidden to go to
the toilet. It is usually said that teachers touch souls. I truly believe so. For better of for worse,
teachers do have an impact in their students’ lives. In this essay I am going to compare and
contrast the characteristics of two teachers I had as a kid.

Mrs. Williams was the kind of teacher that any kid loves to have. I remember she always had a
smile on her face and never got angry. How did she do it? I don’t know but I guess she just
loved her profession. She was kind and patient. She always took time to let her students think
about what to say when she invited them to participate in class. I have never been the best
student in any class, however, I always felt safe when I had to talk in Mrs. Williams class. Not
only did she have the personal traits to be a great teacher. She also had amazing abilities that
made her a wonderful educator. For example, she knew how to play the piano, and she had an
amazing talent for acting out different voices. Having classes with her was not only a learning
experience but also a cultural one. Finally, but not least important, I remember her classes were
very easy to follow; I would always leave her class feeling that I had understood everything she
had taught me.

While Mrs. Williams remains an angel in my heart, Mrs. Reese appears in my memory as the
devil. Why? What I remember is that she was very serious. So much so that I think I never saw
her teeth. I wonder what they looked like. Before an exam for her course started, she always
used to tell us that we would not be allowed to go to the toilet. I guess that was the reason why
I never got very good scores in her exams. My mind was always too busy telling myself not to
wet my skirt. Lord! That was really troubling for me. Whereas Mrs. Williams always smiled,
Mrs. Reese used to frown and look down at us. Maybe she was not patient, or maybe she
thought that was funny, but it was not funny for me. There is one thing Mrs. Williams and Mrs.
Reese had in common. Both of them spoke very clearly and accurately. They both gave very
clear explanations. However, since I felt so unsafe at Mrs. Williams’s class, my performance was
never very good.

Next time you have a kind smiley teacher who inspires you to learn and feel safe in class, cherish
him or her. One day you will remember his or her lessons and your face will lighten up. If you
ever need to be somebody’s teacher, counselor, or parent, remember to always be kind and
show empathy. That is how you will want to be remembered.

Block organization (Two body paragraphs: one body paragraph about all characteristics of
Teacher A; a second body paragraph about all characteristics of Teacher B).