Qualities of a Good Teacher

"A teacher affects eternity he can never tell, where his influence stops..."
~Henry Brook Adams

Teaching, since ages, has been acclaimed as a noble profession. A profession where there is dignity, respect, and novelty! Trying to share what you know with a person in a way, that knowledge transition is smooth and flawless, is definitely an art in itself.

This is possible only if the teacher is dedicated, knowledgeable, passionate, and at the same time, a teacher by choice! A good teacher discovers the hidden talent in a child and polishes it until, the talent shows out in the crowd.

Besides the sound educational background that this profession demands, qualities like patience, compassion, and innovation are essential too! So, here are some answers for what are the qualities of a good teacher. Scroll through and you may benefit from them, if a teaching job is what you are looking for.

Inculcate the thirst for knowledge! Children are playful, no matter which age group they belong to. Garnering their attention is a herculean task. However, a good teacher manages to do that with ease. How? Replace the concept "greed for marks" with "greed for knowledge".

Devise techniques to make your subject interesting. Children are passionate learners and pick up things instantly which intrigue them and interest them. If it is Math, involve them in some cool math games or some puzzling riddles to help them rake their brains! Help the child with the concept.

Guide the child through a problem, he does not understand, but do not offer immediate solutions. Make him feel the joy of exploring solutions by himself and understand what he has learned and surely, the child will never forget, what he has learned with efforts!

Discover and rear hidden talents! Every child is unique and none of them is weak. Each one of them covets a hidden talent, waiting to be discovered at the right time.

In a class of many children, few grasp instantly in the first go and a few lag behind in understanding, which does not mean the later are dumb. It means, they need attention!

As a teacher, one must monitor not only the academic development of a child, but also the personal and extracurricular growth of a child. Who knows, your class might be having the best orator, the best singer, or the best rugby player!

The real challenge for a teacher lies in his/her passion to transform a not so artful student into a clever one! Small bouts of appreciation, every now and then, can do wonders by turning around a dull brain into an intelligent head.

A good teacher will discover such concealed but invincible talents and nurture them, to make the student stand apart in the crowd!

Interact as much as possible! A good teacher will interact more often with all his/her students! When teaching a concept, make sure to ask students a lot of questions. Because, children are kinesthetic learners and everything that children associate with, is a question like "why", "how", and "what", with a visual perception.

So, for a teacher, the body language, facial expression, and presentation style should be in sync with the subject concepts, that are being imparted in the session.

One can also make it a point to prepare a questionnaire of the previous day's session and ask them in the next session. This is a checkpoint for students, which will keep them proactive and alert all the time. Also, encourage team work in your classroom sessions. It will help the students understand the significance of "United we stand, divided we fall".

Creativity is an aspect mastered by passion, and this is one of the most important qualities of a good teacher. When you teach a child, the important point is whether he retains what you have taught or not. This can be used to find out if the teaching methods are engrossing.

Make your subjects interesting and you will have a class full of curious eyes and ears, absorbing in every session you deliver. After all, students should learn out of impulsion and not out of compulsion!

For instance, Maths is a subject of brain teasers with theorems and riders comprising the most part of Trigonometry. Riders are problems, which can be solved in various ways by applying different theorems.

Encourage the students to try out different ways to solve the same rider or a problem and you will be assured by the end of the session, that every child is a genius in himself. Innovative classroom teaching involves passion, attention, and a positive attitude towards the profession. Who knows, you might get to learn a lot from your students.

If you want your students to excel, it is you who has to excel first! Be a role model to your students. An open mind is what a good teacher must have and impart the same to the students.

You may get a varied set of students every year, of which, some students may be notorious, some may be introvert, some may be outstanding, and yet some others may be indifferent.

But remember, all those students, who are not able to achieve their target, need help and the one person who can give them that shade from their problems, is you and you alone! To be a role model to students, calmness, compassion, patience, and perseverance are the key traits for any teacher.

Qualities of a good teacher come with years of experience and understanding and definitely a lot by choice. The qualities, which have been stated earlier, are adept for a middle school teacher.

However, to become a teacher in preschool, things can get difficult and cumbersome, as children are small, willful, moody, and extremely naughty. Teaching such small kids can be a trying time!

A preschool teacher should be endowed with extraordinary levels of patience and enthusiasm, with compassion and creativity attached to them. She is the one, who should always have an enticing smile dancing in her face! A smile is one of the best ways of initiating a sound relationship with a child.

Besides, the teacher must be an excellent listener to the incessant chatter of the preschool kids. Also, the teacher must understand the needs of the child and expectations of the parent and act accordingly.

A sound educational background is a must, even if it is preschool. Attention and dedication form the bulwark of preschool teaching, where every child needs dedicated attention for its personal development. After all, little children are like flowers, they blossom only when they are tended with love, care, and affection!

So, this was all about responsibilities of a teacher. Hope you know now, what are the qualities of a good teacher. Like children, every teacher is also unique as he/she comes with his/her unique teaching techniques.

However, the one important quality which surpasses any qualification is passion, the passion to teach! A passionate and driven teacher will surely produce the most intelligent and disciplined students!