In my opinion, I think there are 3 qualities that a teacher must have in order to be great.
**Knowledge**
You can't teach what you do not know. Hence, knowledge is an important quality for any teacher.
**Empathy**
Knowing your stuff doesn't mean you know how to impart your knowledge. And that's why I think empathy plays an important role. Good teachers follow a curriculum and stick by the books. Great teachers understand every student and tailor their teaching style to suit each student. In order to do this, you need to understand how each student feel. Learn about their problems and difficulties. This requires a lot of empathy.
**Growth mindset**
Learning is a never-ending journey. This is something which I think great teachers will all agree. And in order to keep learning, you need to have growth mindset. The key thing here is to teach students how to learn on their own and encourage them to keep learning. Great teachers with a growth mindset will be able to lead by example and become the inspiration for students.
I believe that one of the best ways to learn how to teach is so simple, like it is to be a student, but isn't only to see classes, everything is about the meaning of learning, a good teacher used to be a good student who studied looking for the because about what you're doing.
A teacher must be passionate and love what he does and the most important of all, must be patient and creative for looking for the way to the others understand.
1) Passion for teaching. This can manifest itself so many ways. I’m the “jump around the room” kind of teacher, and sure, that comes from a lot of passion, but some of the best teachers I’ve known have had a passion that students had to be quiet to catch onto.
2) Love of kids. You laugh, but it’s true! I’ve seen people come in and talk about teaching and talk about how much they love their subject and know about their subject, but they never mention the kids. Worse, we had an interview once where the teacher clearly knew his stuff, but he basically admitted that his classroom management style was fear and intimidation. Not who I want teaching kids I care about.
3) Love of their subject. Again... pretty important. I spent four years dropping by Mike Thayer’s classroom because to watch him explain physics or calculus was, for me, to understand how you could have a passion for something that was always a mystery for me. Great teachers not only love their subject, but they love to share that joy with students.
4) Understanding of the role of a school in a child’s life. High school is more than the sum of the classes the kids take. It’s a time to grow, explore, try on identities, find joys that might just last a lifetime. Sometimes the best teaching we do happens on basketball courts, in the halls after a class, at a local coffee shop or in a drama studio. The best teachers know that they are teachers for much more than the time they are in the physical classroom.
5) A willingness to change. This one gets overlooked sometimes, I think. I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating. We talk about how schools should be transformative for kids, but I think they can be just as transformative for teachers. If you expect kids to be changed by their interaction with you, it’s got to be a two-way street.
6) A work ethic that doesn’t quit. It’s a hard, draining job that will demand all that you can give sometimes. You’ve got to be able to have some balance in your life, but there are very few teachers who can be effective by cramming everything they need to do into the hours allocated by the average teacher’s contract. (And for the record, the overwhelming majority of the teachers I’ve met put in hours well above and beyond the contract.)
7) A willingness to reflect. You’ve got to be able to ask why things went the way they did... both on the good and the bad days. And you have to be able to admit when the reasons it went bad were because of what you did, not what the students did. (Equally important is the understanding that often things go right because of what the kids brought to the table, not because your lesson plan should be bronzed.) Teaching requires a willingness to cast a critical eye on your practice, your pedagogy and your self. And it can be brutal.
8) Organization. My personal Achilles heel, and one of the things I’m always working to improve. My Palm Pilot helped, really. But I hate paperwork and official looking documents, and it kills me. I am amazed at the people like Dale Lally who seem to get his papers handed back before the kids hand them in or seems to be able to put his hands on every unit he’s ever taught within a moment’s notice. Kids know what to expect, they know he’s going to be organized and have a structure to his class... and he’s still creative and spontaneous and interesting. I can only imagine how much better of a teacher I’d be if the structure of everything I did was just a little more organized.
9) Understanding that being a “great teacher” is a constant struggle to always improve. I think I’ve had some moments of great teaching in my career, but I also still see all the holes in my teaching -- sadly, often times mirroring holes in my self -- and I still want to get better... because I think I’ve got a long way to go to be a great teacher every day. And even if I get better at everything I see as weaknesses now, I can only imagine what new challenges will face me on that day.
10) Enough ego to survive the hard days. The tough days will leave you curled up under a desk, convinced that you can’t teach or the world is too hard for these kids or the work is too much or whatever the problem was that day... you have to have enough sense of self to survive those days.
11) Enough humility to remember it’s not about you. It’s about the kids. If your ego rules your classroom, if the class turns into “me vs. them” or if you can’t understand that a sixteen year old might be able to tell you something you don’t know, then don’t teach. Or at least, don’t teach high school.
12) A willingness to work collaboratively. Sure, there are some great teachers who close the door to their classroom and do what they want, but I think you send a strange message to the kids that way sometimes. Teachers are part of a school community, and even where that community can be flawed (and lots of schools are), a great teacher should be willing to work to make the community a better place.
Research shows that the most important in determining the quality of education received by a child is the teacher. the most complex work today, requires extensive knowledge of subject matter, caring, and love for subjects, disciplinary knowledge and classroom management techniques, is the desire to make a difference in the lives of young people in the future. With all the qualities needed, it is not difficult to find a great teacher. Great teachers master the subject matter and demonstrate expertise in the subjects they teach and spend time continuing to gain new knowledge. They present material in an enthusiastic way and instill curiosity in their students to learn more independently.
The factor of loving children with all their heart, like it or not must be owned by a teacher. This is the main capital of a teacher. Teachers who love their students will always try to make their students happy with a fun learning process.
2. Understanding the socio-cultural background of students
By understanding the background of students, teachers can easily develop and choose teaching methods and techniques. The right teaching methods and techniques can facilitate students in absorbing knowledge and understanding what values will be invested.
The teacher's understanding of the background of students should not give rise to discrimination in the learning process but must result in deep understanding for the teacher in viewing his students as unique individuals / individuals who have their own characteristics. Here the teacher develops an attitude of respecting the existence of each individual student along with their strengths and weaknesses.
3. Stable emotional stability
A teacher must be able to control emotions when dealing with students. This is important to support the creation of a fun learning process. A friendly face, friendly words can create a comfortable learning atmosphere without pressure.
There is no benefit for a surly teacher, saying harshly, and arrogantly. This can lead to dislike of students and even often lead to hatred towards teachers which leads to students not liking the subjects taught by the teacher.
The teacher also must avoid punishment that is not educative and excessive, both punishments that hurt physically and non-physically. Remember, there are many events where students behave impolite and insolent because they imitate the behavior patterns of the teacher.
4. Has motivational power
Teachers with character will be able to convince their students that they have the potential to change towards a better, can move from poverty and ignorance, and can live better and successful in the future through learning.
Motivation for students must be continuously instilled so that they grow in self-confidence that they can be great, independent, smart and have a bright future.
5. Love the teaching profession
Teachers who love their profession will devote all their attention, expertise, and intellect to serving in the world of education. He will try his best to do the best for his students diligently and firmly. The teacher must have loyalty, high responsibility for his profession and be responsible for achieving the educational goals to be achieved.
In my opinion, I think there are 3 qualities that a teacher must have in order to be great.
**Knowledge**
You can't teach what you do not know. Hence, knowledge is an important quality for any teacher.
**Empathy**
Knowing your stuff doesn't mean you know how to impart your knowledge. And that's why I think empathy plays an important role. Good teachers follow a curriculum and stick by the books. Great teachers understand every student and tailor their teaching style to suit each student. In order to do this, you need to understand how each student feel. Learn about their problems and difficulties. This requires a lot of empathy.
**Growth mindset**
Learning is a never-ending journey. This is something which I think great teachers will all agree. And in order to keep learning, you need to have growth mindset. The key thing here is to teach students how to learn on their own and encourage them to keep learning. Great teachers with a growth mindset will be able to lead by example and become the inspiration for students.
I believe that one of the best ways to learn how to teach is so simple, like it is to be a student, but isn't only to see classes, everything is about the meaning of learning, a good teacher used to be a good student who studied looking for the because about what you're doing.
A teacher must be passionate and love what he does and the most important of all, must be patient and creative for looking for the way to the others understand.
So what makes a great teacher :
1) Passion for teaching. This can manifest itself so many ways. I’m the “jump around the room” kind of teacher, and sure, that comes from a lot of passion, but some of the best teachers I’ve known have had a passion that students had to be quiet to catch onto.
2) Love of kids. You laugh, but it’s true! I’ve seen people come in and talk about teaching and talk about how much they love their subject and know about their subject, but they never mention the kids. Worse, we had an interview once where the teacher clearly knew his stuff, but he basically admitted that his classroom management style was fear and intimidation. Not who I want teaching kids I care about.
3) Love of their subject. Again... pretty important. I spent four years dropping by Mike Thayer’s classroom because to watch him explain physics or calculus was, for me, to understand how you could have a passion for something that was always a mystery for me. Great teachers not only love their subject, but they love to share that joy with students.
4) Understanding of the role of a school in a child’s life. High school is more than the sum of the classes the kids take. It’s a time to grow, explore, try on identities, find joys that might just last a lifetime. Sometimes the best teaching we do happens on basketball courts, in the halls after a class, at a local coffee shop or in a drama studio. The best teachers know that they are teachers for much more than the time they are in the physical classroom.
5) A willingness to change. This one gets overlooked sometimes, I think. I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating. We talk about how schools should be transformative for kids, but I think they can be just as transformative for teachers. If you expect kids to be changed by their interaction with you, it’s got to be a two-way street.
6) A work ethic that doesn’t quit. It’s a hard, draining job that will demand all that you can give sometimes. You’ve got to be able to have some balance in your life, but there are very few teachers who can be effective by cramming everything they need to do into the hours allocated by the average teacher’s contract. (And for the record, the overwhelming majority of the teachers I’ve met put in hours well above and beyond the contract.)
7) A willingness to reflect. You’ve got to be able to ask why things went the way they did... both on the good and the bad days. And you have to be able to admit when the reasons it went bad were because of what you did, not what the students did. (Equally important is the understanding that often things go right because of what the kids brought to the table, not because your lesson plan should be bronzed.) Teaching requires a willingness to cast a critical eye on your practice, your pedagogy and your self. And it can be brutal.
8) Organization. My personal Achilles heel, and one of the things I’m always working to improve. My Palm Pilot helped, really. But I hate paperwork and official looking documents, and it kills me. I am amazed at the people like Dale Lally who seem to get his papers handed back before the kids hand them in or seems to be able to put his hands on every unit he’s ever taught within a moment’s notice. Kids know what to expect, they know he’s going to be organized and have a structure to his class... and he’s still creative and spontaneous and interesting. I can only imagine how much better of a teacher I’d be if the structure of everything I did was just a little more organized.
9) Understanding that being a “great teacher” is a constant struggle to always improve. I think I’ve had some moments of great teaching in my career, but I also still see all the holes in my teaching -- sadly, often times mirroring holes in my self -- and I still want to get better... because I think I’ve got a long way to go to be a great teacher every day. And even if I get better at everything I see as weaknesses now, I can only imagine what new challenges will face me on that day.
10) Enough ego to survive the hard days. The tough days will leave you curled up under a desk, convinced that you can’t teach or the world is too hard for these kids or the work is too much or whatever the problem was that day... you have to have enough sense of self to survive those days.
11) Enough humility to remember it’s not about you. It’s about the kids. If your ego rules your classroom, if the class turns into “me vs. them” or if you can’t understand that a sixteen year old might be able to tell you something you don’t know, then don’t teach. Or at least, don’t teach high school.
12) A willingness to work collaboratively. Sure, there are some great teachers who close the door to their classroom and do what they want, but I think you send a strange message to the kids that way sometimes. Teachers are part of a school community, and even where that community can be flawed (and lots of schools are), a great teacher should be willing to work to make the community a better place.
Research shows that the most important in determining the quality of education received by a child is the teacher. the most complex work today, requires extensive knowledge of subject matter, caring, and love for subjects, disciplinary knowledge and classroom management techniques, is the desire to make a difference in the lives of young people in the future. With all the qualities needed, it is not difficult to find a great teacher. Great teachers master the subject matter and demonstrate expertise in the subjects they teach and spend time continuing to gain new knowledge. They present material in an enthusiastic way and instill curiosity in their students to learn more independently.
1. Loving children
The factor of loving children with all their heart, like it or not must be owned by a teacher. This is the main capital of a teacher. Teachers who love their students will always try to make their students happy with a fun learning process.
2. Understanding the socio-cultural background of students
By understanding the background of students, teachers can easily develop and choose teaching methods and techniques. The right teaching methods and techniques can facilitate students in absorbing knowledge and understanding what values will be invested.
The teacher's understanding of the background of students should not give rise to discrimination in the learning process but must result in deep understanding for the teacher in viewing his students as unique individuals / individuals who have their own characteristics. Here the teacher develops an attitude of respecting the existence of each individual student along with their strengths and weaknesses.
3. Stable emotional stability
A teacher must be able to control emotions when dealing with students. This is important to support the creation of a fun learning process. A friendly face, friendly words can create a comfortable learning atmosphere without pressure.
There is no benefit for a surly teacher, saying harshly, and arrogantly. This can lead to dislike of students and even often lead to hatred towards teachers which leads to students not liking the subjects taught by the teacher.
The teacher also must avoid punishment that is not educative and excessive, both punishments that hurt physically and non-physically. Remember, there are many events where students behave impolite and insolent because they imitate the behavior patterns of the teacher.
4. Has motivational power
Teachers with character will be able to convince their students that they have the potential to change towards a better, can move from poverty and ignorance, and can live better and successful in the future through learning.
Motivation for students must be continuously instilled so that they grow in self-confidence that they can be great, independent, smart and have a bright future.
5. Love the teaching profession
Teachers who love their profession will devote all their attention, expertise, and intellect to serving in the world of education. He will try his best to do the best for his students diligently and firmly. The teacher must have loyalty, high responsibility for his profession and be responsible for achieving the educational goals to be achieved.