What makes a teacher strong? What differentiates the best
from the rest? There’s no shortage of bodies (some dramatically misguided)
attempting to solve this riddle.
The answers are nebulous at best. Below is a list of traits, some of
which may be familiar but many of which will never show up on any sort of
performance review. Check them out
and see what you think.
1. They Demonstrate Confidence
Confidence while teaching can mean any number of things, it
can range from having confidence in your knowledge of the material being
learned to having confidence that your teaching acumen is second to none. Though
these two (and many other) “confidences” are important the most critical
confidence a teacher can have is much more general, and tougher to describe
than that. It’s the confidence
that you know you’re in the right spot doing what you want to be doing and that
no matter what transpires, having that time to spend with those young learners
is going to be beneficial both for them and for yourself. It’s clear to students when teachers
exude this feeling. Working in schools is difficult and stressful, and also
immensely rewarding. But if you’re not confident that you’re in the right place
when you’re teaching…you’re probably not.
2. They Have Life
Experience
Having some life experience outside the classroom and
outside the realm of education is invaluable for putting learning into context
and keeping school activities in perspective. Teachers who have travelled,
worked in other fields, played high level sports or enjoyed any number of other
life experiences bring to the profession outlooks other than “teacher”. From understanding the critical
importance of collaboration and teamwork, to being able to answer that ageless
senior math question “when are we going to use this?”, educators who have spent
significant time and energy on alternate pursuits come to the profession with a
deep understanding of where school fits into the bigger picture of life.
3. They Understand
Each Student’s Motivation
Just as each student has a different set of interests, every
student will have a correspondingly different set of motivators. Many (or most) students will be able to
reconcile their own outlook and ambitions with what’s happening in the class
and take motivation from that relationship. Unfortunately some students will rely simply on external
motivators, but worse, we’ve all run into students who really can’t find a
relationship between what makes them tick and what’s happening in the classroom
around them. These students run
the risk of disengaging altogether.
This is where the master teacher knows each of her students and helps them
to contextualize the work they’re doing to allow the student to make a
connection with something in his realm of interest. Teachers who can’t help students make this connection need
to rethink what’s going on. After
all, what IS the point of work in which a student finds no interest and for
which he can make no connection?
4. They’re People,
Not Heroes.
Yes, all teachers are heroes. Now let’s move beyond the platitude to what this really
means. Some teachers still have
trouble showing any sort of vulnerability of fallibility. These teachers will expend immense
amounts of energy hiding the fact they’re frustrated at something, that they’re
upset or perhaps even angry.
Why? Other teachers get
tied into logical knots to avoid admitting “I have no idea what the answer to
your question is.” But teachers who genuinely connect with students are the
ones who aren’t afraid to show emotions in class, who can admit that they
aren’t in fact the repository of all knowledge. Of course nobody want to be a
wallowing, blubbering mess in class, but what better way to teach empathy than
to give the students someone to empathize with when we’re having a bad day? What
better way to foster collaboration and to teach that it’s okay not to know
something than to say “I don’t know, let’s find that out!”?
5. They’re Technologically Capable
Let’s not belabour this point, after all, plenty of ink (or
pixels as the case may be!) has already been spilled on this topic. As time
passes, the statement “But I’m not very good with _________ .”(fill in the
blank with any number of technological devices) is sounding ever more like “But
I’m not very good with a telephone.” The ONLY time the sentiment above is
acceptable is if it’s followed immediately by “…but I’m very willing to
learn!”. After all, we wouldn’t
accept such weak rationalizations from students regarding their work. In 2013, as a profession, we lose
credibility every time we allow excuses like this to go unchallenged. Enough
said.
6. They Model Risk
Taking
We encourage our students to be risk takers, we’d all like
to be risk takers, but let’s be honest, the nature of the beast is that many
teachers are not naturally risk takers.
This point goes hand in hand with showing vulnerability, the teacher
who’s willing to go out on a limb, to try something new, to be “wacky” in the
name of pedagogy earns the respect of students, even if the snickers seem to
say something different. No matter the success or failure of the risk taken,
the experience will certainly be memorable for the kids in that class, and
isn’t that what we’re aiming for?
After all, as the old adage goes, there’s no such thing as bad
publicity.
7. They Focus On
Important Stuff
Whether it’s worrying about who’s late to class, collecting
every little piece of work in order to “gather marks” or spending too much time
lecturing to the class in order to “cover the material”, there’s no shortage of
ways to distract teachers from the what’s important. Strong teachers know that things like chronic tardiness or skipping class are usually
symptoms of larger issues and as such, spending precious time and energy trying
to “fix” the issue almost never works.
That’s what administrators and counselors are for. They also understand that efficient and
effective assessment means eliminating busy work while giving targeted,
meaningful feedback and that engaging the students, connecting the material to
their interests and passions, is the surest way to maximize learning. There’s plenty of minutiae and enough
CYA (Cover Your…) in education to easily get sidetracked, strong teachers keep
their focus on what’s important.
8. They Don’t Worry
Too Much About What Administrators Think
This trait is tied in with
many of the others listed above. Strong teachers do their job without worrying
too much about “what the principal will think”. They’ll take risks, their classes my be noisy, or messy, or
both. Their activities may end up
breaking something (usually the rules) in order to spark excitement or
engagement. They understand that
learning is not a neat and tidy activity and that adhering too closely to rules
and routines can drain from students the natural curiosity, spontaneity and
passion that they bring to school.
Worrying about what the boss may think can be draining and restrictive
in any job, teaching is no exception. The best teachers live by the code “It’s
easier to get forgiveness than permission.”