What are the most important elements of a good teacher?

[keith99]

You can't give younger students too much latitude however.

Oh definitely. But just as one can give even a very young child freedom within their home a good teacher can provide materials, such as a class library, within the classroom and encourage students to explore those materials.

 

[keith99]

well in a way yes but I did mention "should be very knowledgeable in the subject" which was meant to include competence.
I think the criteria we choose says more about us than the ideal teacher. It means we have a preferred learning style or expectation of how a teacher should behave. I can remember some students saying they loved a certain teacher, whereas I couldn't stand them.

I stand corrected. You did mention it in your post that started this thread and I do see what you said as covering competence.

Spoiler alert. Have you ever read Inferno by Niven and Pournelle? It is a sequel/remake of the original by Dante (which acknowledges the original). In hell we meet many people and all, all save one protest that they do not belong there, that they were unfairly condemned. That one exception is a schoolteacher and unique in another sense, she is the only one I remember who the hero thought did not belong. He considered her the best teacher he ever had and a good person. And she agreed with his assessment, that she was a wonderful teacher for those who wanted to learn like him. But for those who were difficult students it was different, she reported them as having a learning disability. That got the problem out of her class. Oh and was a self fulfilling prophecy because once that was on their record it because 'true'. Her sin? Witchcraft. Her words.

 

[PsychoSarah]

I think one of the most important elements of a teacher is the ability to keep students engaged and interested in learning. I find it far more difficult to learn from an instructor I find boring than one that I find interesting, even if the former teaches a subject I like and the latter teaches a subject I hate. The best teacher I have ever had taught math, the subject I find to be the least engaging and most dull, though I do not struggle in it. He made learning long division almost pleasurable.

 

[Allandavid]

A passion for their subject really is important I agree. However,the teachers I remember are the ones who validated me as a person. I felt they liked my personality. We need teachers to like us don't we.

Yes, that would be my 'number one'. After 40 years in the game, I would think that good teachers should actually like kids...! You'd be surprised (maybe) how many don't...

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Yes, that would be my 'number one'. After 40 years in the game, I would think that good teachers should actually like kids...! You'd be surprised (maybe) how many don't...

so you've been a teacher for 40 years. congratulations, you must be suited to it. I had to quit. I'm too prone to anxiety and oversensitivity. Just the noise of a group of kids can annoy me these days. When I taught , I must admit the more I liked a class, the better I did with them. If I got on well with the class leaders, it was a sinch. If I didn't, I dreaded going to school every day.

 

[Allandavid]

so you've been a teacher for 40 years. congratulations, you must be suited to it. I had to quit. I'm too prone to anxiety and oversensitivity. Just the noise of a group of kids can annoy me these days. When I taught , I must admit the more I liked a class, the better I did with them. If I got on well with the class leaders, it was a sinch. If I didn't, I dreaded going to school every day.

Thank you. I was chatting with my principal at a school function and we agreed that experienced teachers should be able to teach just about any syllabus handed to them. Because the determining factor in their success is the quality of the relationships they develop with their students.

 

[Ygrene Imref]

I'll offer some criteria here but any criteria you think of is fine.

-good at explaining difficult concepts
-encourages every student including slow learners
-good at classroom management and discipline
-good clear voice, easy to listen to
-entertaining
-provides a variety of activities so its not just "chalk and talk"
-challenges students to think for themselves
-really cares about each student as a person, an individual
-very knowledgeable about their subject
-uses humour a lot

Knowledge if the subject matter.

 

[Radrook]

Having accurate knowledge and necessary skill to convey it effectively so that the student learns.

Necessary skill would include a sincere desire that his student learn. That might sound so obvious that it might seem strange to even mention it. But some teachers do strive to extend lessons beyond the necessary in order to keep the student from learning too quickly lest he leave too soon and the profit will be less.

for example, a member of our rock band gave guitar lessons but purposefully held the students back for that purpose. At the end of six months one student didn't know how to play even a single song. He knew the chords up and down the neck but couldn't even play Mary Had a Little Lamb. Of course he finally complained out of frustration, but by that time he had wasted time and money unnecessarily.

 

[ananda]

I'll offer some criteria here but any criteria you think of is fine.

-good at explaining difficult concepts
-encourages every student including slow learners
-good at classroom management and discipline
-good clear voice, easy to listen to
-entertaining
-provides a variety of activities so its not just "chalk and talk"
-challenges students to think for themselves
-really cares about each student as a person, an individual
-very knowledgeable about their subject
-uses humour a lot

-Someone who encourages his students to know what he's teaching for themselves, instead of believing him on blind faith.