The Most Important Qualities of An Outstanding Educator
An outstanding educator possesses unique qualities that set him or her apart from others in the field. Ask any student about a favorite teacher and listen intently as he or she describes that person with a smile. Ask a parent of a child who will enter first grade in the fall about the teacher choice for their child. The parent would describe the outstanding educator in their desire for that special teacher. The qualities of an outstanding educator are easily recognized by those whose lives they touch, shape, and change on a daily basis. It is in this writing piece that they will be described and discussed.
Outstanding educators are caring. While most educators possess this quality, it is the notable teacher that is able to transcend his or her feelings into concrete and measurable ways that demonstrate an investment in the individual student. The outstanding educator asks and continues to ask; what can I do for this child? What does this child need? How will I deliver? What resources are available? The student’s progress and goals are constantly assessed and evaluated. Outstanding educators care about the whole child- academically and socially.
Another important quality of an outstanding educator is competence. Outstanding teachers are highly capable. They know how to do their job, and they do it very well. They are smart, well ed...
As I read these articles, I agreed with almost everything that was said. The Great Teacher Question: Beyond Competencies, by Edward R. Ducharme begins with a sentence that basically sums up my reason for teaching, “I begin this essay by defining a great teacher as one who influences others in positive ways so that their lives are forever altered” (Ducharme, 1991 p. 2). Over the course of a student’s education they will have many teachers, but there are maybe only one or two who are THE teacher. The teacher who impacts this child’s life in a positive way forever. The rest of the articles follow this same theme, suggesting ways that teachers can become THE teacher. One of the most important qualities I found in these articles (and one I
In Jeremy Polk’s article, Traits of Effective Teachers, he mentions ten characteristics of effective teachers. Those ten traits are, “good prior academic performance, communication skills, creativity, professionalism, pedagogical knowledge, thorough and appropriate student evaluation and assessment, lifelong learning, personality, content area knowledge, and the ability to model concepts in their content area” (Polk, 2006). Polk understands that these are not the only traits that effective teachers will showcase, but it is the start to a list of highly important qualities (Polk, 2006).
There are many qualities to an outstanding educator. The most important qualities include experience, the ability to adapt classroom materials to highlight each student's abilities, incorporation of cross-curricular standards, empathy for each individual student, parental involvement, and cooperation amongst other teachers and the administration. All of these qualities also together create a positive learning environment for the students.
There are quite a few things that have to be considered when thinking about important qualities of outstanding educators. A teacher’s main goal is to help their students learn. However, a teacher that only does this, hardly qualifies to outstanding, let alone average. There is an old quote that states, “People won't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Though, it is a bit cliché, it is absolutely true. For example, I have memories of being in school and working harder for teachers that really seemed to care about me and how I performed in their class.
I spent some time looking back upon my time in elementary, junior high and high school and thinking about all of my favorite teachers, and what exactly made them such outstanding, inspiring educators. I came to several conclusions. A good teacher is one who can not only show a student how to add four and seven, but also help them see why it is important for them to know how to do so. A good teacher is one who can explain to a child the process of photosynthesis while at the same time instilling an appreciation for the beauty of a flower. A good teacher is one who can accept and cherish a hug from a child and conveniently overlook the muddy handprints left on her skirt. I feel that successful teaching is made of several components that build upon and complement each other. Love and discipline, understanding and encouragement, and patience and persistence constitute a pyramid for the educational process.
Like many other students in the public school system, I had my share of “good” teachers and “bad” teachers, but I learned valuable things from each of them: from the “good” teachers, inspiration to enter education and how to be a good teacher, from the “bad” teachers, if nothing else, what not to be. As important as education is to children’s success in life, they should have as many positive influences as possible. I will strive to be the best teacher I can be, not only to be marked as one of the “good”, but one of the “great” teachers of education.
Everyone knows that when it comes to making a difference in a student’s academic and life achievements, their teachers play a large role. A teacher’s way of relating to their students, and teaching them to achieve both socially and academically contributes to how effective teachers are. What does it mean to be an effective teacher? Overall there seems to be an emphasis that teacher effectiveness is related to how well their students are doing based on standardized testing. As teachers we know there is much more that goes into being an effective teacher then just teaching our students based on tests. In this paper different definitions of an effective teacher will be addressed along with how to assess teachers on being effective.
This teacher is effective because they know that they are making a difference in a child’s life and shaping their future.
Defining what makes a teacher particularly special and great is not something easy to do. All teachers possess certain qualities that make them unique, and depending on numerous factors such as school setting, personality of students, class size, etc., such qualities may turn out to be effective or ineffective. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes a teacher’s efforts worthwhile, because it is not necessarily a value or statistic that can be calculated numerically. How can one go about determining whether such extraordinary pedagogy is present? It is a matter of whether or not students scored high on standardized tests, whether they enjoyed coming to school everyday, whether they were successful throughout the rest of their
Some of my favorite childhood memories involve teaching my stuffed animals what I had learned in my schooling. As I grew older I found myself still wanting to teach, but with children instead of stuffed animals. I have always strived to live a life of honesty, integrity and, full of passion while being compassionate, and understanding with all things. I want to inspire the ones around me to go, and achieve their dreams. These are just some of the many qualities, and characteristics I think encompasses what an exceptional educator is. Knowing that every child has the ability to learn if given the opportunity is crucial. An exceptional educator goes above, and beyond to ensure that each child not only learns, but understands the material. As
There are many things which make a teacher great and they all can`t be defined.However i`ve always considered several of them essential.In my opinion a good teacher is someonewho first of all creates interest in studying,doesn`t underestimate the children,has equal expectations of siccess from everyone and last but not least likes his job.
There are many skills and attributes needed to make an outstanding teacher. Among them are content knowledge, classroom management, leadership, and compassion.
There are several main characteristics that every teacher needs to have to be a great teacher. A great teacher respects students(Orlando,Web). In every teachers classrooms, every students opinions and ideas are highly valued. Students need to be able to feel safe to fully express their feelings and
One good quality a teacher should have is, respect for the students. Each person’s ideas and opinions should be valued and not judged. They should be able to express themselves without feeling insecure. Another good quality is, having high expectations for your students. Each student should be encouraged to do their best and achieve goals that they may have never met before. Another good quality is, I believe a teacher should have is good communication skills. They should keep not only the students informed on what is going on in the class, they should definitely keep the parents informed as well. Teachers need to know how to communicate with all their students because some are at different levels than others.
With the proper guidance and support, teachers can achieve academic excellence in the classroom. They follow their principal’s vision and share their goals. Teachers also serve as leaders in their classroom. They share their vision and goals with their students promoting positive attitudes in the classroom. Just like it is important for principals to respect and understand what their teachers need, students also need the support, understanding, respect and empathy from their teachers. When teachers demonstrate commitment in the classroom and set high expectations they raise the level of learning in the classroom. Teachers that work with the students and their parents to understand and meet their needs will achieve positive academic outcomes. Students engage in learning with positive attitudes and strive for high achievements. Teachers work together with their leaders to improve their teaching