Blog Post 3: A Question About Teachers

What makes a great teacher?

 

I always ask myself what makes a good teacher and how can I apply that to class and my future as an educator. Many things make a teacher, but what makes them unique is what really counts. All teachers are different and have special qualities that make them not only certified to teach, but to learn. What I am mean by this is that any teacher, whoever it might be has to have a certain "passion" to teach in order to be a teacher. Without the love to educate young minds into the future leaders of this country, why teach?

 

Teachers have a certain love to do what they do in terms of either subject or the enjoyment teachers get when they see their students achieve success in the classroom. A good teacher goes above and beyond to connect with their students on a personal level that helps build relationships. If a teacher can do this it makes the student more comfortable and confident to perform well in the class. A good teacher will create a learning environment for the students that will make them interested to learn and encourage them to explore their talents and specialties.

 

I always like to remember the memories of one my favorite teachers I had in my life. Now don't get me wrong most teachers I have had were pretty good, but Mr. Murray, my sophomore English teacher was a great teacher. I remember the first the day of class when he talked about a funny story in his life, the class all laughed and that instant this was going to be an exciting class. Now English has never been my favorite subject, but how he taught it made the class more confident to express. He made the class room environment a place where he would provide positive reinforcement, but still be critical. This helped the class become more confident that they would share anything about their life or papers with judgment. I had gained a friend. Mr. Murray was so open to hear anything and I was willing to share. He always gave good advice on how to live your life and always be passionate about what you like and making good life decisions. What really made it a good friendship was that we both shared interest in what we loved. We both loved baseball. He was a Boston Red Sox fan and I was New York Yankees fan, so you know how that went. We always talk smack about each others team in a fun, but respectful way because we both had respect for each others team regardless of the long lived rivalry. Mr. Murray was a passionate, fun, caring teacher that would do anything in his power to help the student succeed in his class.

 

These are the qualities that a teacher should have to make them a great teacher. Having something in common with your students, so you can connect with them on a personal level. Have a passion of loving to teach and always enjoying knowing what your doing is transforming the nation's youth into the leaders of tomorrow.