The characteristics of a good teacher
Characteristics of a good/ great teacher are not so different between cultures even if methods and interpretations are. Most cultures hold teachers to a high standard of knowledge and character. Teachers are with our children minimum seven to eight hours per day in every country.. They help to mold and shape character and knowledge. How many of us would place this responsibility into the hands of a perfect stranger? Yet we often do when we send our children to school. Why would we do such a thing? We trust a system that we have been a part of. This system certifies our teachers as having met certain standards, and levels of training. We trust they are being held to a high ethic as well by our school boards or whoever governs our school systems. Have we let our expectations slide? I think in some cases we have. Most teachers are good teachers, but are they of good character? But are they great teacher? What are the characteristics of a good/great teacher? On this serious issue here is a SERIES of above 100 articles. world is top teachers and expert writers, educators describe the exact point of view on this issue. this is not necessary you are agree on every point but undoughtly this is the best theory or content or process for how to be a good and great teacher. What do you think about it? Please write to us.welcome on the board.
Teacher needs flexibility (1)
Communicates Knowledge
Teacher should have knowledge of what they are teaching and the ability to share that knowledge. The second part of that statement is the most important. Knowing is not the same as communicating knowledge effectively. Ability to gain student interest often hinges on the attitude of the teacher and their ability to communicate at a student’s level.
Flexibility and Tolerance
The teacher needs flexibility in teaching style and method. No two students are the same. Not all students learn the same way or at the same pace. If a teacher doesn’t develop a way to reach the single student, they are going to have difficulty teaching a group. If that sounds a little backward think about it. I used to help develop daily schedules and training plans for a group of sixteen people with special needs in an institution. There is no doubt each has a unique need in those situations. It’s easy to let some needs slide. Yet, if we let an important need slide, it will affect other aspects of their development. Balance is the key, and meeting individual needs in a group is possible. I’ve been told it isn’t, but I’ve proven it is.
Sense of Detachment
A teacher should never personalize a student’s inability to cope in a classroom setting. By personalizing the student’s problems they end up resenting the student. A teacher who resents a student has lost the priority; which is the student. The student may have learning disabilities or be extremely gifted. It is not a reflection on the teacher that these children have such challenges. It is the teacher’s responsibility to seek proper evaluation and guidance for teaching the student and/or helping the parents do so as well.
Creativity and Humor
Creativity is a must for teachers. Keeping a student’s attention especially in kindergarten or first grade is tough. Adapting classroom projects into fun ways of learning, or interesting challenges for students helps them “think outside the box” and develop their own creative learning processes. This teacher is less likely to ask all students to fit into a narrow framework for learning. Without a sense of humor, the teacher is not likely to survive student antics.
Listener
The ability to listen is not only important for teachers to evaluate student progress, but to help target potential problems. understanding helped her to listen to his concerns more and offer some reassurance at school.
Patient yet Firm
Teachers need to be patient, but they also need to be firm. Most children are reassured and feel safer if they know their limits. If a teacher does not remain firm on some set boundaries in the classroom, children usually retaliate through behaviors. Firm does not mean screaming at a child, it means letting them know your limits and holding to them. Patience is a part of being firm. Children cannot learn a teacher’s boundaries and rules within a day, and some will test even longer. The teacher often writes classroom rules on the board and/or may have a reward system to stimulate a desire for displaying good behavior. Patience comes in giving students time to absorb the reality of boundaries. Firmness is in correcting the student through reminders.
Good Example
A teacher needs to set a good example for their students. This takes a certain amount of good moral character. I’m not saying they all have to attend church every Sunday. What I am suggesting is realizing that their position requires them to display acceptable behavior in the community. Teachers need to maintain respectability in their lifestyle beyond the school grounds. My son once came home after a wrestling practice and noticed one of his teachers in a drunken state, setting on his porch, spouting foul language and racial remarks. This man was a coach and someone my son looked up to. The kid was devastated. He did not have much respect for that teacher after that.
Whatever social structure and governing bodies we have, we need to have a certain amount of trust in them and those who teach our children. We are careful to know the doctor who holds the lives of our children in their hands at birth. Teachers should also be held to a high standard and scrutinized closely. They hold our children’s future in their classrooms. I’d like to say that all teachers and parents fit these character traits. Most do, but the few who don’t can cause damage to our children and their development.
Must exercise balance in everything (2)
The teaching profession is blemished by men and women who earned the degree necessary to work with children, but underachieve in the classroom. Conversely, there are those gifted educators who dedicate their careers to making a positive impact in the lives of children and who do a remarkable job accomplishing their goals. Most of us have experienced the curse of suffering under the authority of a bad teacher and the blessing of a good teacher’s leadership, but what characteristics made the good teacher so special? A good teacher exhibits countless praiseworthy attributes, but three are absolutely supreme. A good teacher exudes a contagious passion for education. A good teacher demonstrates the ability to balance and prioritize numerous responsibilities. A good teacher unreservedly extends love and acceptance to all students.
The current political climate with regard to education has left a sour taste in the mouths of countless educators. Politicians desiring change have inadvertently caused many to feel unappreciated resulting in a reduction of morale. Optimism is in short supply these days making it an even more valuable commodity. A good teacher overcomes the negativity in any envoronment and remembers that students come first. The enthusiasm and excitement of a good teacher is clearly recognizable and should be treasured by all who come into contact with it. Along with a good teacher’s zeal comes tremendous power to change lives for the better. Enthusiasm has the capability to squash out apathy and hopelessness in even the most obstinate students. It can transform a timid and insecure young person into a confident leader who realizes his or her full potential and accomplishes greatness. It inspires other educators to shun mediocrity and embrace excellence. Enthusiasm is contagious. It is a force to be sought after and deeply appreciated.
In the complex world of today’s classroom, teachers not only need to possess exemplary character and keen insight into the specific emotional, social and academic needs of students, they also must pass on the right knowledge, to the correct degree, using methods that are best for each student. Educators must meet the mandates of state, federal and local governments, the requirements of the School Board and the petitions of the Principal. In addition to all of this, maintaining a structured classroom environment is paramount to accomplishing anything positive. How can one person carry out such a seemingly insurmountable task? Balance! A good teacher must exercise balance in everything he or she does. It is not enough to be loving, kind and encouraging while the students are out of control and carelessly putting themselves in danger with wild behavior. It is not enough to be a structured disciplinarian and create a quiet climate while the children are too afraid take risks. It is not enough for students to accomplish great academic strides at the expense of their self-confidence. Balancing and prioritizing responsibilities is fundamental to success.
Contemporary classrooms are made up of diverse groups of students with complex emotional, social and academic needs. A good teacher is committed to reaching out to every student with love and tolerance. Some students demand more time and effort than others, but a good teacher is determined to break down walls and maneuver around barriers to support a challenging student and bring out the best in him. Simultaneously, a good teacher makes sure he does not neglect students who are less demanding or intentionally attempt to fade into the background and go unnoticed. A good teacher puts in the effort to connect with the rebellious to the bashful and everyone in between. It is a demanding endeavor, but a good teacher highly values every student and refuses to leave anyone behind.
A good teacher is easily recognized. She is zealous in her approach to education and inspires everyone around her with cheerful optimism. He manages tremendous responsibility with balance. He employs a holistic approach to education and does not get bogged down and overly focused on one aspect of teaching at the expense of other equally important areas. She recognizes the importance of treating students as individuals and is tenacious in her approach to meeting the diverse needs of her students. A good teacher is a precious treasure whose full impact is far reaching and immeasurable.
Good teachers love teaching (3)
Holle Abee
As in any profession, teaching has its good and it not-so-good members. As a teacher myself, I think most teachers who have endured for five or more years in the classroom are probably good teachers. If not, they would most likely already have been “weeded out” or decided on another career choice on their own during that time span.
While teachers are certainly individuals, with each having her strong points, effective teachers do share several qualities.The best instructors are motivating, patient, knowledgeable, and interesting. Also, they share what I call the T-factor, a hard-to-define nebulous ability to transfer information and a desire for knowledge from their minds into the brains of their students.
In order to be a quality teacher, one has to be able to motivate students to learn by being an active participant in the learning process. This is not always easy to do. Sure, it’s easy to force a chhild to sit in his desk, be quiet, and look as if he’s listening, but to actually get the students to want to learn the material sometimes takes almost Hurculean efforts. Good teachers have an arsenal of motivational strategies. Teachers also have to have patience, sometimes at a level comparable to Job. Unless the teacher is a college instructor, kids are involved, and we all know that kids will be kids.
Teachers have to be able to handle myriad outbursts, tears, class clowns, slow learners, and all sorts of misbehaviors from time to time without losing her temper.
Good teachers must be knowledgeable. How will they teach their subject to others if they themselves don’t have a deep understanding of the material? In addition to being knowledgeable about their own area, they also need to have a working knowledge of psychology in order to handle a group of thirty or so children without the class turning into a chaotic frenzy.
One of the most important qualities a good teacher possesses is the ability to interest her students. Kids quickly become bored, and a bored student will ultimately “tune out” the teacher and daydream about a plethora of pleasures more enjoyable than being trapped in a school desk. Effective teachers use a variety of visual, audio, and kinesthetic modes to keep students interested, sprinkled with a great sense of humor.
The T-factor is, without a doubt, THE most important element in a great teacher. This is the ability to actually teach, to impart wisdom into young minds. A teacher can know her subject inside and out, but if she can’t share that knowledge with others, she’s virtually useless. Case in point: I once had a math teacher who had an IQ of 170, but he could not teach. He couldn’t share his brilliance with his classes. This quality is difficult to attain. It can’t be taught by a special formula. But good teachers somehow have it.Good teachers love teaching, and it’s evident to her students. Kids are smart and hard to fool. A teacher can’t just tell them she loves her job and expect them to believe it. She proves it to them by her actions – the way she teaches and the way she treats her students. Most of all, a good teacher will tell you she doesn’t teach her subject; she teaches children.
Great teachers are confident (4)
Alex Landis
In a lifetime, we as people will be graced with the presence of one great teacher. If we are lucky, it’ll be two. These people end up shaping our lives for the better because of their greatness, and we deeply admire them for that. A great teacher has many faces. They may typically be a professor or teacher in the classroom, but often they can be our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. It makes no difference who they are really, or what their profession, but great teachers all have one thing in common. They instill inside us values, knowledge, hopes and dreams. Once they’ve been taught to us, we are changed for the rest of our lives.
Teachers who teach for a profession have high expectations to meet. They hold our young children’s minds in their hands and mold them like pieces of fine clay. Greatness is expected form these teachers as they are responsible for helping bring our children into their adult lives. This is partly why it is important to find the characteristics that these great teachers share. If teachers are to be taught themselves, they must be taught the excellent traits of their peers before them.Let’s take a look at the qualities that define a great teacher.
1. Love What They Do
There is no question, that awesome teachers love to teach. Not doing it for the money, prestige, or glory, they teach because it brings them an incredible feeling of satisfaction knowing they are contributing positively to the futures of others. If a teacher doesn’t have this inner satisfaction, and does not enjoy what they do, they’ll never be able to make lasting impressions in their students minds. Passion has great impact, and this is something that all great teachers have.
2. Good Communicators
A teacher has the responsibility of bridging the gap between themselves and their students, so good communication skills are a must. It’s difficult sometimes to relate to people, especially children, so that learning can happen in their minds, but excellent teachers are masters of this. Relating to students on the student’s level, these teachers have developed many ways to reach their students, and communicate using terrific speaking skills, visual aids, and even in their body language.
3. Admirable
In order for a teacher to be great, they must be admirable. These teachers lead lives of high moral ground, and they set an example to their students because of it. Really though, admirable teachers are more credible than others. We as people are much more likely to listen to those we admire, because we wish to be like them. Models of who we would like to someday be, great teachers help show us the way.
4. Positive Reinforcement
Instead of using strict punishment to discipline students, great teachers know how to use positive reinforcement to discipline instead. These teachers understand that negatively hinders how their students learn, creates resentment in the students minds, and ends up breaking the ties of the student-teacher relationship. Often these teachers reward their students for doing a good job, so they are more apt to doing it in the future.
5. Fair & Just
Equality is an ideal that great teachers hold dear to themselves. They treat their students equally, yet giving them the individual attention they need. No child is left out in the mind of a wonderful teacher, and they make it a mission to teach them all the same. In doing so, they end up teaching their students the importance of equality and fair treatment, even if the teacher hadn’t intended to do so.
6. Leadership
Great teachers are leaders. In the classroom, they own the spotlight, and have the responsibility of being strong instructors so that students listen to them with determination. They have to lead their students on the right path through the learning experience, and help by showing the obstacles that may stand in the student’s way.
7. Committed.
There is no doubt that a great teacher is committed. They go above and beyond the time requirements of a typical teacher, and are willing to help students whenever they need it. Great teachers are very committed to the curriculum they teach, and like their students, are always continuing to learn in the hopes of becoming even better teachers.
8. Understanding
Great teachers understand their students better than most people. They understand where their students came from, who they are, and know the best avenue to take them to who they will become. Great teachers have an uncanny understanding of what they teach, because they are experts in their fields of knowledge.
9. Compassion & Caring
There is suffering in the world, and a great teacher recognizes this and has the inner desire to help. Great teachers help by teaching, because they know that by giving knowledge to the next generation, they are creating individuals who will have the skills, compassion, and dedication to ending suffering. Great teachers care about the world and what they do and wouldn’t have things any other way.
10. Confidence
A teacher can’t teach without confidence. Students won’t believe in a teacher that first doesn’t believe in there-self. Great teachers are confident that they know how to teach, and in what they are teaching. Nothing stands in the way of this confidence, and the teacher does their best not to become arrogant about the job they do.
11. Prepared
Excellent teachers are prepared. They know they steps necessary in their curriculum to teach students, and follow them well. These teachers are always ready to go when the time calls for it and they never leave their students lost and not knowing the direction they are headed. Great teachers stick to the plans they’ve prepared, in order to teach the beat way possible
12. Professionalism
Professionalism is the sign of a great teacher. They know that as someone who is responsible for helping people learn, they must take their work seriously. Terrific teachers dress well, have good hygiene, and treat their students with respect. They believe in timeliness, and are never late and rarely miss days they are assigned to work. In do so, their students respect them, and are more willing to learn from them.There are many qualities that make up a great teacher, and these are some of the most important ones. The next time you think about that awesome teacher you had, whomever it may be, think about these qualities and what it takes to be a person who lives a life of admiration. If we truly learn from these people that have shaped our lives, then maybe we can become teachers too.
Teaching is not suited to everyone (5)
To some, teaching is the only rewarding profession to be part of, whilst to others it can be their worst nightmare. As with all professions, teaching is not suited to everyone. However, even within the profession itself there are those who fail and others who excel. Those who excel in this role do so because they possess a range of unique characteristic, either inherent or learnt well. The following are just seven of the most important characteristics and skills that go towards the making of a good teacher.
1. LEADERSHIP
Either from a natural ability or through a process of learning, good teachers will have leadership qualities and skills. They will use this attribute to encourage students to follow the path of learning that has been set for them, and to generate a real interest in the subject. Therefore, instead of viewing the topic as simply a part of the daily timetable, students will look forwards to the experience. Good use of leadership skills can build a leaning culture, with which every student in the class will desire to be a part of and want to become involved. As many leaders within the commercial world are called visionaries, so the teacher with good leadership skills will make their subject come alive in the minds of the student, making it a real experience rather than a journey through hard copy of text books and journals.
2. ORGANISATION
Organisational skills are extremely important to good teaching. This has to be obvious in the way that the teacher has prepared for the lesson they are giving and, in addition, the structure of the lesson, providing a natural flow for developing the subject being taught. Similarly, if equipment needs to be used or special arrangements made during the lesson, a good organisor will have prepared this in advance.Students will react to the level of organisational capability displayed by the teacher. For example, they are less likely to take a topic seriously if the teacher has to spend part of his or her time lesson trying to work out what they want to do or say next. Displaying this level of disorganisation will lead to students becoming distracted and not taking the learning process seriously, thus limiting the knowledge they receive.
3.COMMUNICATION
Understanding the art of good communications is essential for anyone in a position of delivering knowledge to others. This skill involves speaking, listening and watching. With regard to speaking, the teacher has to be able to deliver the subject in a voice manner that willgenerate interest and response from the student. The changes in tone and emphasis in the voice and the delivery will stop the tutoring from becoming a monotonous dirge, and will compel the students to pay attention.However, communication is also about listening. There needs to gaps of silence within the delivery to allow students the opportunity to digest the information they have received and construction questions they may wish to ask for the purpose of clarification, further explanation or to give an opinion. When the student is speaking, the teacher has to use his or her own silence to concentrate upon what is being said, as this will help them to assess how successful they have been at imparting knowledge. The good teacher will learn as much as the student from this interaction.Watching is another aspect of communication. Often a teacher may have up to thirty students attending their lesson, but it is important that he or she makes a connection with each. By watching students, good teachers will be able to notice if any are being left behind in the learning process, or if confusion is arising. Using communication skills the teacher will be able to address these issues if they occur, therefore ensuring the effectiveness of the message delivery.
4. RELATIONSHIP
A good teacher will build relationships with his students; relationships that consist of mutual trust and respect. This can be seen as an essential element of the learning process. If a student respects and trusts his or her teacher, they will trust and respect the message and knowledge that teacher imparts to them. Similarly, a good teacher has to respect those being tutored to enable them to deliver the subject matter in a positive manner.
5. DISCIPLINE
To excel at his craft, a good teacher will also know how to maintain discipline within the classroom, without which the opportunity of delivering a positive and heeded message will be seriously undermined. However, the discipline exerted will be built on the back of the relationship that they have developed, with the student. In this case, the disciplinary culture for the class will become an almost automatic reaction of students, making the task of teaching and learning a great deal easier.
6. HUMOUR
Just as humour is a part of life, so it plays a role in teaching when used appropriately. It can add texture, realism and life to even those subjects that many students might consider mundane. Humour can also enhance the connection between the teacher, student and the subject, creating a sort of bond between these elements. Furthermore, it can provide much needed relief in subjects that have an intense nature.
7. COMMITMENT
Finally, a good teacher has a commitment to their work. Many will say that it is a vocational calling. Whether others agree with this or not, there is no doubt that the best teachers have a passion for their work and for imparting knowledge to those willing and ready to learn.Good teachers disavow all the trappings of wealth and success that might attract to other careers in which they could probably be equally successful. To him or her wealth and satisfaction comes solely from the knowledge that they are helping to train and build solid foundations of knowledge and understanding for the generations of tomorrow.
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