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What Makes A Good Teacher

What makes a good teacher? It is more than just knowing your subject matter. Characteristics of a good teacher are ones that make children want to learn!

Did you take the survey before coming to this page? If not, don't worry - you can still take it here: Click here to take the teacher quality survey before you read the rest of the page!

Which quality of a good teacher did you choose as the most important? Well, they all are, of course. Every teacher has his or her own strengths, but some educators just have that extra special something.

Traits of a Good Teacher

1. High Energy

Working with children all day is very physically demanding, and being able to keep up is what makes a good teacher.

In primary education, there is no room for energy slackers. When I moved from intermediate grades down to primary, I was shocked at how tired I was after each day.

When you have good physical fitness, your energy level shows in the classroom and you feel like doing more with the children.

As well, you will be working with small groups, differentiating for your higher students and intervening for struggling students.

2. Flexibility

There are days when it seems that nothing is going to plan. Why the heck did you spend all that time on those lessons for anyway?

Your days will be interrupted with assemblies, parents, kids being pulled out for interventions, visitors, discipline issues...and what about that lesson you knew was going to work and ended up being a dismal failure?

All that planned instruction - out the window.
What makes a good teacher? Someone who can quickly change directions while maintaining classroom management, not to mention assessing students' needs on the fly then being able to pull a lesson "out of a hat" with just the right information to meet those unanticipated needs.

3. Love Reading

A love of reading is definitely part of what makes a good teacher, especially in the elementary grades.

Teaching children reading is very difficult, and there is no magic trick.

However, if you have lack passion for reading, your students will pick up on it. You must over deliver your reading lessons to get them on board.

4. Organized

An essential characteristic of a good teacher is an organized classroom and management system..

This does not mean your room has to be perfectly clean and there are no piles of materials laying around (like that ever happens, right?).

What it means is that an effective teacher uses an organized approach to structuring lessons, knows the common core standards to be taught, and meets students' needs.

Children (and most adults!) thrive in an organized environment where they know what to expect and what daily routines are. If you lack organizational skills, it will show in your classroom management, your students ability to learn to their full potential, and how the staff and parents view you.

5. Be Empathetic and Patient

What makes a good teacher? One of the characteristics of a good teacher is that he or she will respond to students at a very personal level. These children are coming in to your room every day with a variety of situations that you may not know about, but you will see it in their behaviors and academic performance.

Students will tell you that to them, this is part of what makes a good teacher.

Remember that somebody out there loves that child very much and has entrusted his or her care to you. Being able to keep this in mind when you deal with children is part of what makes a good teacher.

6. Have a Sense of Humor

Having a sense of humor can really bond you to your students. If they love you and enjoy you, they will want to work hard for you. Simple, but ever so hard to achieve for some people.

You will be confronted with situations that have the potential to really upset you. Learn to laugh at yourself and life a bit - nobody else takes you as seriously as you do. In these situations, having a bit of humor is part of what makes a good teacher.

7. Be Personable

Parents, students and colleagues have to feel that they can approach you. They know what makes a good teacher, and you absolutely must be able to maintain positive and productive relationships with people in this job.

Your position depends on working closely with others and you must be able to build mutual trust, respect and admiration to be successful.

8. Have Strong Content Knowledge and Teaching Skills

You absolutely must have strong content knowledge. You will also have very diverse needs in your classroom.

Do not depend on special education or gifted education specialists to meet those needs for you.

Also, a great teacher self-reflects and changes instructional strategies and management methods to meet the needs of the students, instead of constantly placing blame and shame on them for failing.

These are the characteristics of a good teacher that students, parents and staff will expect of anyone in our profession.

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