Qualities of a Good Teacher

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.