What Makes a Great Teacher (Part Two)
28 Jan 2010 7 Comments
in conversations, education, teaching
Rapport with the students, thorough knowledge of the subject, and an enthusiasm for the job of teaching: these are the three factors my mother has always identified as essential for practicing good teaching. The teachers over at the EC Ning are discussing this too, and more than one bring up an idea my mother always hated: that teachers should be idealists, driven to “save” a school or class or child and willing to martyr themselves in order to do. I think the only popular cultural perception of teachers she hated more were the clueless or callous villains we see so often in high school movies! But as far as the martyr model, it too often leads to disillusionment, discouragement and burnout.
I especially liked the idea argued in the article that a good teacher is constantly thinking about how to be a better teacher, and maybe I like that because I feel like I am constantly striving towards that goal myself, which I think makes me a better teacher. It’s similar to this quick take on teachers as gnomes, wizards or giants: can a stagnant teacher who no longer takes risks still be a good teacher? I also believe strongly in a student-centered room, or what Freire describes as a community of teacher-students and student-teachers, which inherently demands that everyone in the room be engaged with each other and be invested in each other as partners in learning.
I think she would also agree with some of the factors that Teach for America has identified, like “perpetually looking for ways to improve their effectiveness,” frequently checking for understanding (which dovetails with the idea of engagement and investment from all members of the classroom), and a history of perseverance, in and out of the classroom. A psychological study calls this “grit”: both “perseverance and a passion for long-term goals,” which predicts not only teacher success, but cadet retention at West Point.
But how do you teach grit? What seems to recur is that many of the factors that make someone a great or “highly effective” teacher–passion, dedication, grit, drive to improve–are factors that can be measured, evaluated and recognized, but not taught in a classroom. What does that mean for education programs? As a teacher who’s never taken an education class, I’m perhaps not the best one to ask, but I don’t think it’s a question that can be ignored for long.
Jan 29, 2010 @ 20:50:04
Education classes are tricky. When the only education experience one has is as a student, it’s difficult to see the classroom from the viewpoint of a teacher. Schools that require and provide a lot of observation hours and give student teachers the chance to assist in real classrooms are providing the best experience. I know I would not have wanted to be thrust into teaching without having done student teaching. I learned so much from that experience and from the knowledgeable cooperating teacher. I’ve recently been told my students really think I know what I’m doing. So, maybe I do!
Jan 29, 2010 @ 21:50:58
I know– I can’t imagine jumping in with no experience at all! I walked into my first college classroom with no experience, but I had a lot of support, and teaching college kids doesn’t carry the same challenges as teaching younger kids. Not to say there are no challenges, but it’s a very different animal, and I was only teaching one class then!
Students can definitely be good judges, so I would feel good about that compliment!
Jan 31, 2010 @ 14:37:04
These are interesting posts. I often wonder about these things and about how they look in different settings. My husband is a great teacher – at his school. Teacher of the Year last year and clearly thought of as the best at his school by everyone. He is an amazing teacher and is so passionate and into it – but I doubt he’d last a week at my school, even though he is truly a teacher in his soul. I am not a great teacher. My admins are always very complimentary and I think they think they really have something with me, but I feel differently. I think I am a great person to work at a school, particularly a school like mine, but although I have great mastery of my content and a passion for working with children, I know I am not really a teacher in my soul. I would be a great school social worker – that’s what i really am inside, but our district has no such positions. I think I would seem like a great teacher at an easy school like my husband’s but that still wouldn’t make me a teacher inside. Yet I know my students need me and I want to be there for them. I would take a social work job if it happened or the closest job our district has to one, but I wouldn’t want to leave the kids.
Jan 31, 2010 @ 14:51:05
LSM, I think school environment and culture does play a major role in teacher satisfaction and excellence. My mother taught high school and her partner taught 5th grade for decades, and while he was a beloved and revered teacher at his school, she felt the same as you: that his was also somewhat of an easier place to be. I remember when Christmas would roll around and he would get showered with gifts, and she would say, “That’s what it’s like teaching at the country club!”
I think I’m a pretty good teacher, for being as new to it as I am, but what it takes to be good at my school is an entirely different set of challenges than what it would take at a public school in my city, or even at an all-boys school, or a religious school, or even at my school with younger children.
Jan 31, 2010 @ 14:51:41
Also, I’m sorry to hear you aren’t where you want to be. I hope you find a happier medium sometime down the road.
Jan 31, 2010 @ 21:49:31
Thanks, but I’m not sure I’m not where I want to be either. The kids have to be there after all. I want to be there for them. I just want things to be different for everyone. I could never leave them to go to an “easy” school.