What qualities make a great teacher?

Question

Reflect on all of the teachers you have had over the years. What qualities made them great teachers? What qualities didn't?

Thank you!

Answer 1

1. Enthusiasm.  I think other people wrote this too, but seriously, its soooo important.  If the teacher hates the subject, it shows, and why on earth would a kid get interested if their own teacher doesn't care?  

2. Entertainment.  Not the same as Enthusiasm.  I know teachers who obviously LOVE their subject, but they just can't bring us to feel the same.  They just drone on, and we fall asleep.  My favorite teachers were those that jumped around the room, used different methods of taking notes all the time, had more hands-on stuff, made jokes, were full of energy.  I know one teacher I loved would randomly give this slightly insane cackling laugh, or shout a word or something, just to get our attention back and keep us awake.  She was always telling jokes, too, which made us listen, and they would usually be related to the subject.  That was great, since you have fun in class, and feel good about it too because you suddenly realize you actually got the joke, which you wouldnt have understood a year ago.

3. Participation.  Kinda related to #2.  Kids like teachers who allow them to be part of a discussion, as long as they weren't forced to.  I remember I hated that, still do, when a teacher would call on me and I had no idea what to say.  My favorite teachers were those that let you alone when you had no idea, but helped you come out of your shell anyway.  These teachers would start lively discussions, ask interesting questions (and if the subject was a more challenging one, relate it to our life).  They didn't mind going off topic a little, occasionally letting the conversation drift to sports or movies or just general making fun of eachother.  This way, the class felt more like a family, and people wanted to talk just to be involved.  Then, when the teacher went back to the more serious, but still interesting, topics, people would still be involved, and get so much more out of it.

4. Leniency.  This is harder to find a balance.  Kids would love it if teachers let us turn in stuff whenever, but thats not going to happen.  However, the teachers that were more understanding of our problems, and didn't mind an assignment here and there that was late, were much better liked.

5. Organization.  Some of my teachers, I really and truly loved, but sometimes I just wanted to strangle them.  There is nothing more frustrating to a student than working for days on an assignment only to have the teacher lose it.  Or, even worse, to realize near the end of the quarter or semester that they are at a borderline grade, but the teacher hasn't graded half the work yet.  I liked regular updates, to know how I was doing.  If I find out halfway through a quarter that I'm not doing great, or my work is slipping, I obviously will start trying to fix that.  If my teacher doesn't grade my work, though, I might not know I'm slipping until its too late.  I could go from loving to hating a teacher based on just the grading of one or two papers.  It is important to students, because, ultimately, they are here for the grades, not to become best friends with the teacher.

6. Friendliness.  This goes along with #3, actually.  Teachers who joke with their students more, or say hi and start little conversations outside of class...in other words, the ones who are "cooler" are better liked.  I liked it when I could joke with my teacher in the few minutes before and after the class, because it helped me become more familiar with them, and I paid attention because I liked them.

Anyway, I think those are the things that really made my favorite teachers.  Hope it helped.  And hope it wasnt too long :D

Answer 2

Qualities that I've seen in successful teachers are flexibility, energy, commitment to students, enthusiasm, willingness to stay in touch with societal changes and trends, keeping an open mind, and an awareness of students' needs and problems.   Teachers who cause anxiety among students or who just can't seem to get through to them are those who are lazy, come to work without leaving their home problems at home, are not willing to stay in touch with what's going on in their students' lives, and who don't want to take the time and effort to find out why the student is acting out or having difficulties in class.   Teaching isn't just about passing on information; it's about educating a whole person.

Answer 3

A great teacher is caring, charismatic, and a great story teller who has the desire to share his/her knowledge and wisdom with his/her students. All of this is done with lots of patience.

The quality that some not-so-good teachers lack is desire to teach those who need learning the most.

Answer 4

Enthusiasm!

If they love the subject and make it interesting and creative, the kids will enjoy it.

The best teacher I had would jump around the room, use puppets, have us get into "characters" [historical figures, since he was our AP European history teacher] and debate with each other, etc. He would make euro hilarious and would be completely random. haha

I think if the teacher enjoys it, kids will too. Don't be afraid to act like a fool to help kids become interested and remember stuff.  

Answer 5

I've thought about this one a lot.  I think the most important characteristic in a great teacher is that he or she really, honestly likes and enjoys being with students.  Without that, nothing else will make a teacher a real success, if you ask me.