What Makes a Good Teacher – Mark Olmsted
My philosophy is neither complicated nor particularly controversial: Teach well, and the students will learn well. Given the fairly broad agreement on this overall concept, I’d like to share more specifically what I believe makes a good teacher.
1. Engagement
Teaching is not the offloading of information, it is a form of communication. The teacher must be exchanging psychological and physical energy with the students, paying close attention to body language and eye contact. If I’m not “reading” my class, I’m not picking up on which kids may not understand the lesson. Some students will ask questions; many, if most, will not. They often need to be ferreted out.
2. Expertise
Always know your material better than your smartest student, and plan your lessons thoroughly. If you know your stuff, you know just how much you need to cover. Easier to aim for more and cut for time, than sketch out too little and find yourself trying to fill out the class.
3. Pace
In my view, this is the secret to maintaining discipline in class. The teacher should always be the lead canoe in the river, pulling students along in his or her wake. A potentially disruptive student can usually be swept along when a rhythm is maintained. “Let’s move on” are three essential words to guarantee the five words that are music to every teacher’s ear: “that class just flew by.”
4. Humor
Thirty adolescents trying to sit still for 50 minutes rather goes against nature; laughter diffuses tension and infuses a kinetic spirit into a physically static environment. Obviously, not all teachers do humor well, but there is always a student or two who does. This doesn’t mean class clowns should be given free rein; it does mean taking the work seriously doesn’t mean taking ourselves too seriously. {For the record, I am one of the teachers who does “funny” well.}
5. Affection
Students who present behavior problems are almost always operating from a deficit of self-love, either because of conditions at home, or a lack of social skills. While a teacher cannot replace a family or circle of friends, he or she can always find qualities that can be acknowledged in every student. Some children genuinely feel no one likes them, and invariably develop either shyness of obnoxiousness as a survival skill. It is essential to view these students in particular with a sense of empathy and compassion, while taking care to let all the students know regularly that you’d rather be teaching them than doing anything else.
6. Teamwork
A good teacher also must work well with other teachers and administration. Students who seem to be having personal issues may need counseling, and curriculum can often be coordinated between subjects. (For example, a lesson in World War II in History while the same students are studying Anne Frank in English.) The time in class may be a solo affair, but the education of the students is holistic. Hilary Clinton famously said “it takes a village to raise a child.” I would add that to educate a child, it takes a staff.
Mark Olmsted 