What Makes a Good Teacher?
A good teacher knows the subject they are teaching well enough that they
can break it down into simple terms for students to understand. They
will show interest in what they are trying to teach, for example,
dreaded math. Remember back to grade school when the teacher would stand
up in front of the class and tell you straight out, "Now, I know this is
boring, but we have to teach it." A good teacher doesn't say
this; a good teacher loves what they are teaching, and they
show the enthusiasm to get the students excited about what they are
about to learn.
When a student asks a question, a good teacher will stop and make the
time to answer the question and not with simple stupid answers,
but with in-depth answers, allowing the student to soak up the
knowledge they are asking to gain. A good teacher uses different
techniques and styles to teach their students. Instead of just
lecturing, they use visual aids; they get the students involved
kinesthetically; they try new things and teach unforgettable lessons.
For example, I had a teacher my junior year in high school who never
failed to show some type of a PowerPoint, and he lectured for what
seemed like forever, but he also never failed to get us involved whether
it be a worksheet, or a game. He told stories about WWI and the people
living during that time. He showed us the movie Flyboys and used model
airplanes that he built himself to show us the different airplanes used
during the war. He was one of my favorite teachers for this reason:
he actually cared about his students and what he taught them,
and he had a passion for history, which is something I will never
forget.
A good teacher takes the time to get to know their students,
who they are, and the backgrounds they come from. They take the time to
figure out how to talk to each individual student and to find out
what style of teaching they respond to best. My little
brother hates English, hates math, and hates testing, but give him
something hands-on to do, like auto shop, woodworking, or welding, and
he thrives. A good teacher would take the time to get to know him and
see that for him to take interest in things like math, it needs to be
taught to him in a more hands-on way.
Also, a good teacher should be culturally responsive as well as
expansive. They should know the students' cultural backgrounds well
enough that they can teach the students according to their lifestyles
and what they will understand. In addition, they should also be
expansive, teaching the students of different cultures and expanding
their knowledge of the world around them, in both the present and the
past.
For example, one of my friends, Ricardo, once told me about his second
grade teacher, who happened to be his favorite, and how she was
extremely into black history. She would show videos, read books, and
tell real accounts of the African Americans who lived through slavery as
well as those who died while in slavery. By this I don't mean
sugar-coated stories for children, but the truth, in detail including
the good and the bad.
Jaargang
10, nummer 151, maart 2011
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Copyright: Albert van der Kaap, 2011