What Makes A School Teacher Become a Great Teacher?
All of us can probably remember a few specific teachers from our childhood that we liked and respected who went on to get the best out of us for the subject they taught. So what were the characteristics that made those teachers stand out as the best ones?
The teachers I recall with respect from my schooling shared three important characteristics which, in my opinion, made them great:
1) They all possessed high standards. Just as toddlers soon start testing the limits of their parents patience, older children will initially test their teachers to see which ones allow them to get away with a reduced effort, a poor standard of work and, quite often, bad behavior. I believe teachers who don't recognise this, or fail to stand firm against a challenge to their authority, quickly lose the respect of the children they teach.
2) The teachers I remember as great all liked me. Children from an early age can instictively tell whether or not someone is genuinely interested in them or simply performing their job as a matter of routine. I believe a lot of teachers become jaded, perhaps bored, and begin resenting the children they teach. In these circumstances it's likely to prove far more difficult for a teacher to become memorable to their students.
3) My best teachers were enthusiastic about the subject they taught. Most adults realise that it's far easier to apply yourself to a job if you're genuinely interested in it. Teachers are no different and enthusiasm is contagious but so is boredom.
So, summing up, the handful of teachers that stand out in my memory were all enthusaistic about the subjects being taught, seemed to genuinely like me being in the class but also had my respect because of the standards they set and enforced.
I went to school in an era when teachers could apply discipline physically and the cane was still frequently in use. Yet not one of the teachers I remember as being great ever threatened brutal consequences to any of the kids in my class. They either had a gift, or were well trained, to earn the kids respect just by using their character, knowledge and presence.
What was it that made certain teachers great teachers when you were at school? Please share your thoughts using the comments section below.
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25.07.2010. 00:31
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