There are plenty of people in the academia, who have mulled over how to become a great teacher? Experts and educationists have suggested remedies and some certain quick fix strategies. Perhaps an ebook or a teacher’s guide is the way forward in this day and age. No matter what he or she does, teachers have always been at the forefront of criticism and fire. Are students and teachers the sides of the same coin or are they not? It is important to note that teaching is also about mentoring and inspiration. Teachers often straddle this thin red line of being both educator and idol.
Here are 5 good ways that traditionally have helped make great teachers:
Teaching is about partnerships: If you are willing to walk an extra mile as a teacher, then you should forge a partnership with all stakeholders. No student is too young nor too old to be held accountable and taken care of. In this case, as a teacher your primary worry should be about building communication inroads with students, parents and administrators that help monitor individual performance.
You should stand accountable too like your students: If you are a teacher, you would know that whatever you do is not infallible. You should rise beyond the halo and stand accountable to your peers and students. Don’t try to defer things. Attend to responsibilities now. Keep records of class activity and students. Knowing your subject is not good enough. Be a convincing teacher, one that is thorough and honest. Admitting mistakes is also fine provided you learn from these and never repeat. Accepting responsibility is part of your DNA.
Try to withstand adversity: There are many troubles teachers face in schools, colleges and university. Online tutors too face the heat all too often from parents and students who are ready to pounce at you at the slightest provocation. You should know how to balance contention, controversy, conflict and failure all in the same breath. You have to realize that adversity is your strange bedfellow that will stay with you your entire career. You should be able to handle disagreements not just with fellow teachers but also with students and their guardians.
Take the long view to success: If you want steady returns from your students and want to see the success rate double in your classroom, then you have to take the longish view of things. Academics is not about quick results. It’s about staying put for decades, seeing students ride high on success later in life. Just like forging partnerships, a great teacher forges motivation and praise with long term goals.
Be competent and good rather than being just good: A good teacher may sometimes be incompetent as an administrator or even an educator. You need to stay abreast with latest in your area and also be a great human being. Competency and goodness are not mutually exclusive in teaching! Your interest in your students’ lives and their performances also is part of your key responsibility area or KRA.
Finally, if you are a Gen Next teacher who lives with the times, you should open up to the case of virtual learning and web based platforms. These often use e learning tools and new methods that enable students to learn in an interactive method. Websites and education experts such as MyEdge have a host of these new technologies that an expert teacher needs to teach a “class”. The faster you embrace such methods and technology, the better your success ratio!
