What are the 4 qualities a teacher needs?
The four qualities
that a teacher needs are a good sense of humor, a passion for their subject,
strong organizational skills, and a respectful approach to their students.
These are qualities that I have observed in some of my favorite teachers and
professors. Other qualities that I believe are important include strong
communication skills, firm content knowledge, and creativity, but I can see how
each of these could be paired with the four I have chosen to write about.
While this quality
cannot, by any means, be the only one a teacher exhibits, a good sense of humor
is often my favorite thing about someone and therefore is at the top of my
list. When you are a student and sitting in classrooms all day, it is important
that you have a teacher that can perk you up and get you excited about
material. Teachers who are able to appropriately and nicely joke around with
their students are able to create a classroom environment that is friendly,
casual, and open to each other’s voices. I have had teachers who have joked
around with the wrong student, however, so I would argue that a teacher needs
to develop a keen sense of you can handle jibes and who cannot.
The importance of a
good sense of humor is amplified when blended with another necessary quality,
passion. When I imagine a “passionate” teacher, I imagine that person
exhibiting many qualities and behaviors: a certain bubbliness that electrifies
lessons, a creative mind that is inspired to teach material in new, exciting
ways, a curiosity to answer the tough questions posed by students, an energy
that does not shirk off “dumb” questions, and etcetera. As a definitive
quality, passion is a large umbrella.
On a functional and
practical level, it is crucial that teachers have strong organizational skills.
It is just absolutely the worst (and unprofessional) when a teacher loses
student work, comes to class unprepared, or forgets to respond to the needs of
their students. Good organizational skills prevent many methodological hiccups
and set a good example for students. Teachers who have an organized brain and
classroom can pass those skills onto their students, especially in their
writing. On another note, parents also appreciate organized teachers, and
respond well to active communication with them.
Finally, and most
importantly, teachers need to be respectful people. Teachers need to respect
themselves, meaning handle themselves with dignity in interactions with their
colleagues and students’ parents as well as uphold good hygiene and
professional dress. Students learn from teachers how to act professionally- if
a teacher is well dressed and well spoken, that teacher is a good role model.
Teachers need to respect their students; they need to speak to them at an
appropriate level, avoiding condescension but also not in a manner that assumes
too much of their experiences. They need to respect the voices of their
students as well as hold their students to a high standard of respectful
behavior. No matter what subject a teacher is teaching students are always
looking up to an educator for a positive role model. Therefore, being respectful
is the quality I deem most important for being a good teacher.
