Thursday, January 30, 2014

A Good Teacher...or a Great Teacher?

This morning in Intro to Education, I asked my students to think about a "good teacher." Perhaps try to visualize a particular teacher you've had. What word would you use to describe her/him?

I turned to the board and asked them to just shout out their descriptors in a lightning round, and I scribbled like mad to keep up. In less than two minutes, this is what we had developed:


A pretty powerful list! I'm trying to imagine a teacher that might have all of these characteristics all at the same time.

That wouldn't be a "good teacher."

That would be a GREAT teacher.

This has me thinking: should we aspire to be good? Or should we aspire to be great? The idea of being a "great teacher" is a little daunting...but maybe this is something to strive for...

In my lesson, I went on to introduce the idea of dispositions for teaching. Dispositions--as I noted to my students--are characteristics or attributes of the teacher that make them more effective. In fact, many of the characteristics of "good teachers" the students listed above were on my list--caring, passionate, genuine, relational, etc. I included others, such as flexible, professional, creative, empathetic, compassionate, and the like.

The question is...are good teachers born? Or made? I even posed this question to the class.

There were a few seconds of thoughtful silence before one young man spoke up: "It isn't an either-or. Good teachers are born with traits that might make them effective, but they also keep developing those characteristics over time."

Bingo.

So, my challenge to you, teacher: Be a "good teacher." Be mindful of your dispositions for teaching. Continue learning and developing. Strive for greatness!

3 comments:

  1. This article about teachers is truly inspiring! It beautifully highlights the invaluable role they play in shaping our future. Thank you for recognizing and celebrating the dedication and passion of educators. lesson plan app

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  2. This article about teachers is truly inspiring. It highlights the invaluable role they play in shaping the future and emphasizes the dedication and passion required for this noble profession. A heartfelt thank you to all the amazing teachers out there!

    ReplyDelete