How to Be a Good Teacher Free Essays

Great English Teachers What are the characteristics of a good teacher of English? The traits range from great teaching and management strategies to a good attitude. Top Characteristics for Teachers There are 15 characteristics of effective teachers that range from having high expectations to being flexible and imaginative. These 15 characteristics can be placed into two categories: management and instructional techniques and personal traits. We will write a custom essay sample on How to Be a Good Teacher or any similar topic only for you Order Now To have strong classroom management and instructional techniques, an English teacher needs to try a variety of techniques to find the ones that work for him or her. Instructional Techniques English teachers need to teach reading, writing, viewing, listening, and speaking. These are five distinct areas, and each has its own set of benchmarks and indicators. Simply put, English teachers have a great deal of content to juggle in the classroom. The list of indicators for their content is quite long. They need to be knowledgeable of grammar, vocabulary, writing, literary elements, great novels, researching techniques, speech strategies, etc. In addition to being a master of content, teachers need to have a large repertoire of teaching strategies. Direct instruction, collaborative learning, and the jigsaw strategy, are just a few techniques that effective teachers use in the classroom. Variety is the key. So, the English teacher must be flexible and willing to try a variety of strategies to see what works best with his or her students. Management Techniques Good English teachers must have excellent classroom management techniques. If teachers cannot manage their students successfully, very little learning will occur in the classroom. With the No Child Left Behind Act and current state policy, it is important that students make gains in their learning every year. For young teachers, classroom management is usually a struggle. New teachers need to be willing to seek out seasoned teachers to mentor them on how to handle the classroom properly and to try different classroom management strategies. Personality Traits Usually, the three most important personality traits are a flexible approach, a caring attitude, and a sense of humor. There are, of course, other personality traits that enable teachers to become great teachers. However, in the current torrent of change in education, a teacher needs to be flexible to help a student. It also helps to be able to laugh and to keep smiling in this climate of change. It is very important that students feel that their teachers care about them. They need to feel safe in a supportive learning environment because this may be the only safe place that some children have. A safe, caring learning environment will help students to work to their true potential. Last, teachers need to have a sense of humor. So many things go wrong every day. It is important to be able to laugh and to keep going. The students need a happy teacher, not an angry one. The characteristics of a good teacher of English include many traits and strategies. English teachers need to do their best in implementing techniques in the classroom to help our nation’s children reach their learning potential Think back to your school days for a moment, who were your favorite teachers? Which ones did you learn more from and why? The chances are that they were ones who made your lessons â€Å"come alive†. Engage you in your lesson as opposed to the â€Å"talk and chalk† variety! Whilst having a sound academic background and knowledge of your subject is one thing, having the ability to relate to your students and convey your message in understandable, motivational terms is quite another. This means not only being able to relate to your learners but being able to adapt your material to suit their needs, and put it across in the most effective (personable? ) form, creating a positive, supportive learning environment. Teaching a Language Having been a teacher trainer for many years I have little time for the teacher who delivers the same lesson verbatim, year after year, without considering their individual students’ needs and learner types, or those whose ego is so large that they are unable to relate effectively to their students. To my mind, teaching a language requires different skills to teaching other subjects like History or Math. We don’t learn a language by talking about it; we learn a language by talking in it! Once a teacher has presented language, it is the students who should speak and use the language (as it is they who need the practice), and not the teacher talking the highest percentage of time – hence the term TTT -Teacher Taking Time. Language teachers also need to â€Å"rough tune† their language, speaking in terms that are slightly above the level of the learner, rather than over simplify (thus providing a false model) or bombard them with meta-language. Core Characteristics Carl Rogers, an American psychologist suggested there are three core teacher characteristics to help create an effective learning environment. †¢Respect: Being positive and non judgmental in regards to another person †¢Empathy: Being able to see things from another person’s point of view †¢Authenticity: Being yourself without egoistic barriers or hiding behind a job title These three qualities a far more likely to induce a more positive learning environment, where students are more inclined to take risks and take responsibility for their own learning. Communication between student and teacher becomes more open and honest and therefore a stronger bond emerges, based on mutual respect. These qualities should not be â€Å"clothes† that a teacher puts on in the classroom. They have to be genuine intentions. A good teacher is one who not only has knowledge of their subject but has the personality to convey it in engaging, motivational terms. Therefore demonstration and participation rather than explanation is often more effective. In short: An effective language teacher is one that cares more about their students’ learning than they do about their own teaching! Top 10 Tips for Teachers Teachers are often placed into an awkward and stressful situation, not really sure of their authority and sometimes not even placed with veteran teachers who are much help. These tips can aid student teachers as they begin their first teaching assignments. Please note: these are not suggestions for how to approach the students but instead for how to most effectively succeed in your new teaching environment. 1. Be On Time Punctuality is very important in the ‘real world’. If you are late, you will definitely NOT start out on the right foot with your cooperating teacher. Even worse, if you arrive after a class has begun which you are supposed to be teaching, you are placing that teacher and yourself in an awkward situation. 2. Dress Appropriately As a teacher, you are a professional and you are supposed to dress accordingly. There is nothing wrong with over dressing during your student teaching assignments. The clothes do help lend you an air of authority, especially if you look awfully young. Further, your dress lets the coordinating teacher know of your professionalism and dedication to your assignment. 3. Be Flexible Remember that the coordinating teacher has pressures placed upon them just as you have your own pressures to deal with. If you normally teach only 3 classes and the coordinating teacher asks that you take on extra classes one day because he has an important meeting to attend, look at this as your chance to get even further experience while impressing your dedication to your coordinating teacher. 4. Follow the School Rules This might seem obvious to some but it is important that you do not break school rules. For example, if it is against the rules to chew gum in class, then do not chew it yourself. If the campus is ‘smoke-free’, do not light up during your lunch period. This is definitely not professional and would be a mark against you when it comes time for your coordinating teacher and school to report on your abilities and actions. 5. Plan Ahead If you know you will need copies for a lesson, do not wait until the morning of the lesson to get them completed. Many schools have procedures that MUST be followed for copying to occur. If you fail to follow these procedures you will be stuck without copies and will probably look unprofessional at the same time. 6. Befriend the Office Staff This is especially important if you believe that you will be staying in the area and possibly trying for a job at the school where you are teaching. These people’s opinions of you will have an impact on whether or not you are hired. They can also make your time during student teaching much easier to handle. Don’t underestimate their worth. 7. Maintain Confidentiality Remember that if you are taking notes about students or classroom experiences to turn in for grades, you should either not use their names or change them to protect their identities. You never know who you are teaching or what their relationship might be to your instructors and coordinators. 8. Don’t Gossip It might be tempting to hang out in the teacher lounge and indulge in gossip about fellow teachers. However, as a student teacher this would be a very risky choice. You might say something you could regret later. You might find out information that is untrue and clouds your judgement. You might even offend someone without realizing it. Remember, these are teachers you could be working with again some day in the future. 9. Be Professional With Fellow Teachers Do not interrupt other teachers’ classes without an absolutely good reason. When you are speaking with your coordinating teacher or other teachers on campus, treat them with respect. You can learn a lot from these teachers, and they will be much more likely to share with you if they feel that you are genuinely interested in them and their experiences. 10. Don’t Wait to the Last Minute to Call in Sick You will probably get sick at some point during your student teaching and will need stay home for the day. You must remember that the regular teacher will have to take over the class during your absence. If you wait until the last minute to call in, this could leave them in an awkward bind making them look bad to the students. Call as soon as you believe you will not be able to make it to class. How to cite How to Be a Good Teacher, Papers