Personal Attributes of a Good Teacher

Outstanding teachers posses the following skills and or attributes: The ability to adapt to any changes that may occur, The cognitive skills to think quickly and logically, The virtue of patience to handle the repeating of information for those students who may not catch on quickly and finally The passion of teaching others to be better learners and the ability to listen and analyze the emotional, physical, and mental state of the students . Truly good educators remember that the image they exude is the example that is set forth for their students. A teacher provides high expectations for the students as well as his or her self to creates a positive atmosphere.

This essay contemplates my individual development, skill acquisition and exploration of teaching approaches; throughout and beyond the International Teacher Training Organisation (ITTO) program. The problems I encountered will be discussed; and their relation to establishing where my wealth of primary teaching experience aligns with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching approaches. For example; efforts to reduce my teacher talk time compared to primary school education was important, correcting pronunciation in an appropriate manner and correctly pacing both my speech and activities were areas of development that were observed, reflected on personally and subsequently acted upon.

While there are many ways to be an outstanding teacher, every high-quality teacher should, in my opinion, have these skills and dispositions:

To be an outstanding educator you need to possess many important qualities. The qualities I believe are the most important are flexibility, creativity, and passion. The teachers I remember and relate to the most have those qualities. They are the areas that I believe I have strength in and the areas that will benefit my future students.

The teacher of the year award and similar awards recognize outstanding educators. When I read articles about teachers of the year, I wonder about the qualities those individuals must possess in order to garner such a highly regarded honor. What makes these professionals stand out above all other educators? One might question the students to find out why a particular teacher was honored. Those students would say:

A teacher should be committed to the school for which she is employed. She should give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. She should show professionalism at all times. She should be respectful to her peers and always subject to authority. She should report for duty on time.

Teachers don’t get paid too well, but they do put a lot on the line. Most teachers try to help an individual in any way they can. They are trying to prepare one for their future life. Many students bicker and whine about all the homework they receive or how they don’t teach. Sometimes students say more than they should, and usually the consequence is the office. As a student, they shouldn’t disrespect them or they think they are not capable of teaching. Also, in a classroom, what they say may affect another student. The other student may start acting like they other individual and get them into trouble as well. Teachers try their best, so give them some credit.

I believe that every teacher should have well-strucuted lessons. The teacher should be able to adjust to practice while the lesson is being implemented. The teacher should be able to recognize if she students may be struggling and how to adapt the lesson to the needs of those students. The teacher should be able to reflect on the lesson after the lesson and learn how to change the lesson if needed.

In “To Teach the journey of a teacher” by William Ayers different teaching styles are introduced. The book teaches us that nobody is a perfect teacher. A couple myths from the book include time management is essential to teaching and you learn everything you need to know about teaching in college. Everyone will have off days when they are teaching and it is not going to go perfectly. Also, you cannot really understand teaching until you are actually in a classroom experiencing it for yourself. School may teach you basic skills and situations that you may encounter, but it is not real until you actually experience a crisis for yourself. Some other myths in the book are all teachers treat their students the same and all students will perform above average. Children come from all different backgrounds and start school in different places. There is no way that teachers can treat every single student the same and ensure that they will all be above average. Overall the book was full of myths that show what other people think of teachers.

In today’s society it is nearly impossible to survive without an education. It is important that we have the right kind of teachers to accomplish certain goals. A good teacher is one who listens to their students and tries to answer any questions they might have about anything. I think that a good teacher should also be able to listen to others opinions and not argue with them but try to understand their point of view on the subject.

Authoritative teachers will often “try to catch their students being good” and will reinforce the good behavior, rather than focusing on the bad. (Iannelli, 2004). It is critical that teachers praise their students for their efforts. A teacher can teach the entire classroom by recognizing one child’s positive action. Children desire praise and they will learn appropriate behavior when their fellow students receive praise. When teachers focus on bad behavior and make an example of a particular student to the entire classroom, it only makes the child that is being reprimanded feel alienated, ashamed, embarrassed, or possibly revengeful.

One of the most essential exercises when in comes to professional development as an instructor is to continuously reflect on your perspective, methodology, instruction and behavior within your profession. Doing so ensure that you a growing and improving on teaching skills and building on old strengths to benefit you as an instructor but especially the students that you serve.

In my opinion, a good teacher should be one who puts her heart into teaching. This is because only by doing so will the students feel their passion and hard work. When a teacher strives hard for the students, students will put in their effort as well. If a teacher dislikes her job, goes to classes in a bad mood, her teaching would also be affected and students would not be able to enjoy lessons as well.

A philosophy of mathematics should be included in an excellent philosophy of education. A philosophy of mathematics should include your thoughts and ideas about what mathematics education is, what impact it has on society, the qualities that make a good teacher, a teacher’s role, research on the standards and instructional strategies, and ways to ensure student are able to learn mathematic concepts in your classroom. Each of these ideas should forever be evolving because we grow as teachers our thought and ideas will grow. I will be discussing my thoughts and ideas on what creates an excellent philosophy of mathematics.

Teaching is a difficult occupation. Teachers play an important part in training children, teenagers… So, a good teacher must have some special qualities. They are: knowledge, creation, confidence, empathy, sense of humor and passion.