I have been working with children for as long as I can remember. My first experience in a classroom was when my baby brother (Hi, Ty!) was in kindergarten. I traded my study hall period for an hour of helping in his classroom. I read with them, played with them, helped them complete activities, and listened to their stories. I was in 7th grade at the time. I have held some kind of education related position every single year since then.
Many of the things I do today are the product of hard work, practice, and dedication. Some skills were mastered relatively quickly. I've been walking and talking (to varying degrees of success) for 30+ years. I took to reading like a duck to water. Some were developed slowly over many years. My sewing skills have improved through the repetition of 2 decades. Mathematics and writing are still works in progress. The fundamentals of teaching - understanding what is going on inside the minds of children and being able to communicate new ideas to them - are skills that I don't remember learning. Teaching is what I was born to do. It is my purpose in life, and it is a part of me at a cellular level.
Anyone who's had the dubious pleasure of carrying on a conversation about education with me will be able to tell you that I am more than a little opinionated on the subject. I have very strong feelings about what education is, how it should be done, and what is wrong with our public school system. I am very passionate about all things relating to the welfare of children and the molding of our future generations. Despite my lack of personal hands-on experience, I have some very distinct ideas about parenting, as well, although I am the first to admit that theory and practice are two very different animals.
All that is preface for me to admit that I am a snob when it comes to teaching. I have very high standards when it comes to adults interacting with and holding influence over children, especially when said adults are supposed to be trained experts. If you wish to be a part of this thing that is the very core of my being and the reason for my existence, you better be ready to give it your A game. I have no patience for people who treat teaching like a hobby or a 40hr/wk obligation.
What does it take to be a teacher I will look up to? I'm so glad you asked! I've arranged it into a nice little acrostic poem just for you!
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T is for teamwork.
As a teacher, you are one small part of the team that is guiding each child into adulthood. You have to be able to work within the spectrum of teachers they are going to experience from kindergarten through high school and beyond. You have to be be willing to share ideas with and get ideas from the other teachers you work with every day. Teaching is too big a job to be contained within one single person. The only way to make the most of the collective knowledge, experience, and abilities of the educational system is to keep lines of communication in good repair.
Most importantly, you have to understand how to be an effective member of each and every Parent-Teacher-Student triangle of which you are a part. This includes accepting the weighty responsibility of your chosen profession. As the "professional" within this triangle, you will be held to a higher standard in the areas of self-control, knowledge, ability, and leadership. If you don't want to do your fair share (and often an large part of someone else's fair share), teaching isn't the job for you.
E is for enthusiasm.
Politicians and businessmen are doing their best to drain the fun and wonder from schools and turn them into factory floors. Students today are subjected to insanely high levels of testing and stress within our educational system, leading to feelings of anxiety, frustration, fear, and depression. Teachers must be able to reach through all that and convince their students that school is a positive place to be and that the process of learning is rewarding. Kids have an amazing ability to see past your facades and into your true feelings. If you don't truly enjoy your job or the material you are teaching, they will know that and it will influence their willingness to cooperate with you.
This doesn't mean you can't have a bad day. Even the most enthusiastic teacher will have an off day. Children know what it is like to have an off day or make a mistake, and they can be very forgiving as long as they trust that in your heart of hearts you are enthusiastic about what you are sharing with them.
A is for accuracy.
Obviously, the foundation of accuracy is having knowledge. This means being a life-long learner. Good teachers see themselves as continuous students. They take classes. They read. They talk about politics, religion, and the many other complexities of humanity. Good teachers reach outside their comfort zone to explore uncharted territories and make unexpected discoveries.
Being accurate isn't about how much information you can hold in your brain, though. If it were, I'd be screwed. I will freely admit that there are a great number of things that I do not know. For one thing, I have only studied tiny bits of a very small number of the subjects available to humanity in the 21st century. For another, I do not have a very good memory, and I'm sure that I have forgotten the majority of those things I have studied. Accuracy in teaching is often about your willingness to say "That's a very good question that I don't know how to answer. What could we do to find out?" coupled with your legitimate interest in the answer.
Accuracy is also about being able to gracefully admit to being wrong. There are going to be times when a 9 year old knows more than you about a particular subject. You and your ego have to be able to acknowledge their expertise and admit your own ignorance. This must be done carefully, however. There is a fine line between allowing kids to see that you are still learning and making them think they can't trust you to know what you are talking about.
C is for curriculum.
Developing a curriculum that works for your style is one of the most important jobs in teaching. Unfortunately, the textbook companies have such influence over schools that teacher prep courses often focus on how to follow a teacher's manual rather than how to truly develop lesson plans. A teacher's guide can be a great resource, especially as new teachers are finding their footing, but it makes me cringe to see experienced teachers moving day by day through a mass produced curriculum with little to no regard for the actual progress of their students.
Good teachers know how to tailor their lessons to meet the needs and interests of their students. They recognize the individuality of each child in their care, and know how to blend those unique individuals into a working whole. Good teachers make their lessons both motivating and meaningful. They can break a concept down into components small enough for students to master while simultaneously allowing students to visualize that concept's importance within the big picture. Teachers must know their students and their standards like the back of their hand, but they must be able to make adjustments on the fly. When curriculum planning is done correctly, the teacher has found that perfect balance between preparation and improvisation.
H is for heart.
In my opinion, this is the most important component of teaching because this is the driving force behind everything else. Being a teacher means adding a new batch of children to your family every year. It means expanding your heart to include each name on your roster. Not just for the time that they are in your class, but for the rest of your life. If you are doing it right, you will suffer from empty nest syndrome every June as your hatchlings fly off and leave you. You will wake up in the middle of the night wondering whatever happened to that poor little guy from 5 years ago. You will feel pride whenever you run into or hear news about a former student. You will brag about them to your family and friends because they will be a part of your family and your heart forever.
Like all parents, good teachers also experience frustration and anger. If your students don't disappoint you or upset you occasionally, you aren't investing enough of yourself into your teaching. If your students are failing tests or neglecting their work or tuning you out, you should be driven to do whatever it takes to find a solution. This means digging deeper into the causes behind these behaviors. It means thinking outside the box and calling on every resource at your disposal. Teachers have to be able to morph frustration and anger into the fuel needed to keep going until something works.
It is vitally important that your students feel your pride and learn to trust that you care about them before you express your frustration or anger with them. It is equally important that they understand that your pride and frustration aren't mutually exclusive.
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There you have it - the five elements that I feel are absolutely necessary for quality teaching. I recognize that it isn't possible for any teacher to excel in all these areas at all times, but the teachers I respect the most are the ones who recognize the value of these aspects of their job.
I should add that time, while not actually mentioned by name, is woven into each of the 5 aspects above. It takes time to communicate, to care, to plan, to learn. Good teachers come in early, stay late, and spend a significant portion of their weekends and their often envied vacation time working. Teaching isn't just a hobby. It's not even just a job. It's a lifestyle. And it takes a special kind of person to life it.
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