Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions.

~Author Unknown Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. ~Gail Godwin A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Brooks Adams A good teacher is a master of simplification and an enemy of simplism. ~Louis A. Berman Teaching should be full of ideas instead of stuffed with facts. ~Author Unknown The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. ~Author Unknow To teach is to learn twice. ~Joseph Joubert, Penses, 1842

why students enjoy your classes and seek you out for new ideas. Sense of Humour You know that a great sense of humour reduces barriers and lightens the atmosphere especially during heavy periods. An ability to make your students laugh will carry you far and gain you more respect. It also increases your popularity. Presentation Skills You know that your students are visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners. You are adept at creating presentation styles for all three. Your body language is your main communicator and you keep it positive at all times. Like a great orator you are passionate when you speak. But at the same time you know that discussion and not lecturing stimulates greater feedback. Calmness You know that the aggression, negative attitudes and behaviours that you see in some of your students have a root cause. You know that they are really scared young people who have come through some bad experiences in life. This keeps you calm and in control of you, of them and the situation. You are good at helping your students de-stress. Respectful You know that no one is more important in the world than anyone else. You know that everyone has a place in the world. You respect your peers and your students. Having that respect for others gets you the respect back from others. Inspirational You know that you can change a young person's life by helping them to realise their potential, helping them to grow, helping them to find their talents, skills and abilities. Passion You are passionate about what you do. Teaching young people is your true vocation in life. Your purpose in life is to make a difference. Willing to Learn You are willing to learn from other teachers AND your students. Although knowledgeable in your subject you know that you never stop learning. One of my biggest goals is to become a teacher. In fact, its part of my personal mission statement:

Qualities of a Good Teacher Empathy You have the ability to bond with your students, to understand and resonate with their feelings and emotions. To communicate on their level.To be compassionate with them when they are down and to celebrate with them when they are up. Positive Mental Attitude You are able to think more on the positive and a little less on the negative. To keep a smile on your face when things get tough.To see the bright side of things.To seek to find the positives in every negative situation.To be philosophical. Open to Change You are able to acknowledge that the only real constant in life is change. You know there is a place for tradition but there is also a place for new ways, new ideas, new systems, and new approaches. You don't put obstacles in your way by being blinkered and are always open and willing to listen to others' ideas. Role Model You are the window through which many young people will see their future. Be a fine role model. Creative You are able to motivate your students by using creative and inspirational methods of teaching. You are different in your approach and that makes you stand out from the crowd. Hence the reason

My mi i i t experience li e t roughteaching others. I dont want to be a run-of-the-mill boring teacher, though. Not li e the substitute teachers of my school days. But what makes a good teacher? We all know good teachers when we see them, and bad teachers too. I thought back over the teachers Id loved and why I loved them. There were only a few, but they all had the following qualities in common. 1. Confi nce.Belief in ourselves despite setbacks. Teachers encounter situations all the time that could be considered setbacks. Kids can be cruel, to each other and to teachers. They can have attitudes, especially teenagers. Ive had teachers to were obviously nervous when they taught. Others were shy and only half committed to their subject. But the best teachers laughed off their mistakes: chalk breaking, books dropped, TVs not working. Where some teachers were flustered, the good teachers shrugged and went on about the lesson, sometimes even joking about the mess up. These teachers knew they were human and knew mistakes happen. They didnt take things personally and let problems get them upset. 2. Patience. Some of my best teachers could have helped students through a mental breakdown. Not that they had to, but that they were so patient, they could have gone the distance. Many a time I, or classmate, would just not be getting a particular concept. My best teachers were those who were willing to keep explaining, knowing that eventually it would make sense. They were willing to wait until a distraction calmed students down, or abandon a lesson entirely if it was clear material needed to be revisited. The best teachers just stuck with it, willing to do what it took, no matter how long it took. 3. T e compassion for their students. Im sure weve all encountered a bad teacher who didnt care what our excuse was. Certainly, some excuses werent valid, but many were. The best teachers cared about their students as individuals and wanted to help them. They had a sixth sense when a student needed extra attention and gave it gladly. They didnt expect students to leave thoughts of the outside world at the door to the classroom. They took the time to discuss subjects outside their teaching, knowing that sometimes lessons can still be taught without following the textbook. Good teachers were willing to speak up

for us to other teachers, if need be. They cared about us beyond the walls of their classroom.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

4. Understanding. Good teachers had understanding not only the sixth sense mentioned above, but true understanding of how to teach. They didnt have a rigid technique that they insisted on using even if it didnt help us learn. They were flexible in their teaching style, adapting daily if need be. They understood the little things that affected our ability to learn; the weather, the temperature in the classroom, the time of day. They had an understanding of human nature and the maturity (or lack thereof) of teenagers. Good teachers knew that we hated to be called young and therefore pre-judged. They treated us as real people, not just students. 5. The ability to look at life in a different way and to explain a topic in a different way. There are many different learning styles. Not everyone gets a subject as taught by every teacher. Ive taken subjects (chemistry for instance) many times, at many different levels, by many different teachers. I took College Organic Chemistry three times from three different teachers. I can tell you from experience that it was more the skill of the third teacher than the third time taking the class that allowed me to pass. Bad teachers only look a subject matter one way. They teach based on how they learn. This works for some people, but fails for others. The good teachers are ones that are able to teach to different learning styles. If students dont understand a subject, they teach it a different way. Instead of looking at abstract formulas, they explain with images what the formulas represent. This requires a through understand of their subject, as well as the ability to consider that subject in different ways, which not all teachers are able to do. 6. Dedication to excellence. Good teachers want the best from their students and themselves. They dont settle for poor grades, knowing it reflects upon their ability to teach just as much upon a students ability to excel. The best teachers encourage the sharing of ideas and offer incentives (like not having to do homework for a day) to get students to think outside the box. They dont tolerate students badmouthing other teachers, doing their best to point out that other teachers are human too. They encourage students

to be good people, not just good memorizers of text. They want students to learn and be able to apply what they learned, not just be able to pass tests. 7. Unwavering support. The best teachers know that everyone is able to do well if they have the right teacher. They dont accept that a student is a lost cause. They encourage if you are frustrated and provide true belief that you can get the material. They stand up for individuals against other students, not allowing for in class taunting. Sometimes, they even extend this outside the classroom, although taunts in the hallways are very hard for teachers to combat. The best teachers are there if you need extra help and even encourage it. 8. Willingness to help student achieve. The best teachers are those that dont stop teaching when the bell rings. They hold extra sessions for SAT prep, they reach out to students after class. They know that some need extra attention or assistance, and they dont act like its not their job. They take that job seriously and know they arent just employed to get students to be able to do higher math, but do well in life. They realize that achievement isnt just a good grade on a test, but a feeling of accomplishment with mastering a subject; they are willing to work with a student for that feeling. 9. Pride in students accomplishments. The best teachers let you know they are glad you got a good grade or made the honors society. They smile and tell you that you did a good job. They tell other teachers about how you did as well. Outside you may feel embarrassed, but inside you are glowing. The best teachers dont single out the best students either. They celebrate the accomplishments of everyone, knowing that everyone is capable to doing well. They are upbeat and positive, focusing on how a student did well, not how well they taught. They may know that it was the strength of their teaching that helped a student to achieve, but they act as if the student is completely responsible. 10. Passion for life. The best teachers arent just interested in their subject, they are passionate about it. They are also passionate about many other things. They praise good weather and smile when they take a few minutes to discuss last nights episode of a popular TV show. They have an energy that almost makes them glow and that

you want to emulate as much as possible. They approach tasks with a sense of challenge rather than routine. They take the universes curve balls and turn them into fun (if possible). They are human, certainly, but they make you feel that there is always a reason to keep going. Things will get better no matter how much they appear to suck at that moment. As may be clear from the above, the best teacher I ever had was a math teacher. She was all the more exceptional because math is the one subject I hate the most. She told us to call her Aunt Jackie, but I had way too much respect to call her anything but Mrs. Lamp. She is now a principal of a different High School than she taught at when I was her student, and I suspect she is as good a principal as she was a math teacher.