What Makes a Good Teacher?

Taylor Crosby

What Makes a Good Teacher

            It is a question that all concerned with education struggle with: “What makes a good teacher?” Though there are varying answers to this controversial question depending upon the opinion and perspective of the one answering, it seems that there are four qualities that are absolutely necessary in the development of successful teaching. Above all, a teacher should be organized/prepared, creative, aware, and passionate.

            When reviewing a good teacher, probably the most important and necessary quality is to have organizational and preparatory skills.  Organization skills are a key part of becoming a good teacher. This includes organization of units, lesson plans, homework assignments, assessment systems, scheduling, degrees of punishment, and so on. Planning is at the base of all classrooms. A well-planned classroom makes way for a successful classroom. A teacher who is not well-organized takes time away from both class and personal time trying to improvise or quickly create a successful lesson. In the long run, improvising eventually leads to a colossal, disorganized mess in which achievement is almost impossible  However, by keeping oneself organized, the teacher creates an open and goal-oriented environment within which learning is not distracted or taken away from. Being organized is a part of being prepared. Within the context of a teacher, being prepared helps avoid possible problems in the future. Anything can happen at any given moment. Controversy is a teacher’s worst enemy. It lurks around every corner and presents itself in the most unexpected ways at the most unexpected of times, threatening jobs. A teacher should be prepared for any controversy that may arise from any lesson, book, etc. A prepared teacher is a teacher ready to take on any task with a well-organized and understanding nature. Teachers should also be prepared for unruly, rowdy, or distracting students and how to appropriately handle them in order to help guide them to inspiration and success.  Without both of these important skills, not only is a teacher going to have a very difficult time doing his or her extremely important job, but he or she would also be wasting valuable development for each student in a tornado of confusion.

            While the previous qualities are important, creativity is also a necessary quality to obtain. A teach is only as good as the success of his students, and how can one’s student be successful if one cannot even engage the students to participate in the first place? The answer is: they can’t. Students are very easily bored. They don’t want to be sitting in class listening to their teacher ramble about measuring the meniscus correctly or how to convert decimals into percentages all day. To them, there are much better things they could be spending their time doing. School is the last thing on their minds. Thus, teachers need to dig deep into their inner youngsters and start getting creative—songs, plays, projects, movies, games, discussions!—there are so many different ways that teachers can introduce and teach topics or curriculum, and the more creative they are, the more likely they are to engage the students’ interests. All students learn differently and, due to these different learning styles, teachers need to find new ways to connect to each and every student in order to help them to success.

            While creativity is important, teachers also need to understand that while being creative, they also need to watch out from straying too far from the subject matter. Lessons need to be both informative and fun. If the lesson allows for too much fun then the students will become distracted. One also must make sure that the creative lesson is not inappropriate or can lead to controversy. If a lesson might appear to be a little risqué, then permission slips should be sent to each student’s parents to notify them of the upcoming lesson plans. Creativity needs to be seconded to appropriate learning. Thus, creativity must be accompanied by a third, very important quality: awareness.

            Awareness refers to many thing in terms of good teaching. In regards to creativity, teachers need to be aware of youth culture. In other words, they need to be aware of what is modern. Creativity, in exchange of class participation and engagement, is great, but, if students are unfamiliar with certain outdated teaching tools, they, in turn, will become bored and, thus, the teacher will be stuck at square one again.  For example, a teacher might want to give the students a visual representation of their lesson on volcanoes. While the teacher might think a documentary from the 60’s might be a highly educational and fun way to engage the students, they might not think so. Not only is the film outdated, but it was also not made to appeal to a younger audience. Most outdated documentaries feature voice-overs of monotonous males stating facts as the camera slowly pans over stagnant shots of the subject matter. The film, if anything at this point, just serves as nap time for the students. They lay their heads down in their arms crossed on top of their desk and snooze. But say that the students watched a YouTube video made by  some comedic scientists on their science YouTube channel about volcanoes (there are many) which proves to be both hilariously entertaining while, at the same time, expelling facts and demonstrating the mechanics of a volcano and why they erupt. They might be more likely to pay attention. There are all sorts of scientific related shows on television that may serve as better visuals than some outdated documentaries (Mythbusters, Bill Nye, Mad Science, etc.) Thus, if a teacher is aware of the times and modern youth culture, then that are more likely to be able to relate to and engage the students.

Awareness is more than just an awareness of the times. Awareness entails awareness of students and student behavior. Which students are and are not comprehending the material? How can this be helped? Which students seem isolated from the rest of the class? Which students are being bullied? Which student are having a hard time working in groups? Which students roll their eyes or yawn when you are giving a lesson? Which ones have learning disabilities? Which ones receive free lunch? Why might they receive free lunch? All students come from different backgrounds and these differences in backgrounds influence who they are as students and how they think. Teachers need to be aware of these specifics and factor them into their teaching tactics and plans in order to ensure equal opportunity and attention to all students.

Awareness here also refers to the awareness of the expectations and goals of parents, the school, the community, the nation, and, most importantly, the self.  A teacher needs to be aware of all of these differences of view and bring them to a happy medium, while still keeping/ sticking to their own teaching beliefs. This is very important. The teacher is the one who has been trained to teach students. While the teacher needs to be understanding of all opinions and needs to take them into consideration, the teacher also must not stray from their teaching beliefs or methods.

Finally, the last quality that makes a good teacher is passion. Passion is extremely important for any teacher to have. If a teacher does not have a passion for their subject matter, a passion for children, a passion for learning, a passion for teaching, or a passion for knowledge, then what is the point? Inspiration feeds off of passion when it is ever-present. If a teacher feels passion for his or her job then this passion will radiate outward in every lesson, every activity, every spoken word, and will eventually reach students. One must think of it as such: If the teacher doesn't want to be there then why would the students? Passion is what keeps a class moving forward and progressing. A passionate teacher encourages learning and never gives up on a student. They are determined to make a student succeed, because their passion for learning, teaching, and knowledge allow them to push forward and inspire others. Passion is the fire that keeps a teacher going. Without passion, there is little hope for those being taught.

Overall, a teacher needs to have organizational and preparatory skills to act as a glue to hold the class together, creativity to grab the attention of the students and reach all types of students, awareness to pinpoint issues and avoid them, and passion to keep the class’s energy up and to encourage them to stay determined in becoming successful students.