My Ideal Teacher
When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having an open mind and observing one another. If I could construct the “ideal” teacher for me, I would only have to focus on three main aspects of the individual. These three qualities would be conducting a fun and interesting class, having organization and genuine comprehension of subject material, and developing a need to accept and have a constructive relationship with all students.
Because of the most recent technology children today expect to be entertained by some other means than “twiddling their thumbs”. This need is not only present in the home setting; it is everywhere they go, including school. Therefore, teachers today have to make learning more enjoyable than it ever has been. Students are aware that at school they have strict rules to follow and expectations from their teachers. However, school can be fun if the teachers make it that way. There are numerous ways that a teacher can accomplish this. For example, a teacher could do something as simple as having a “joke of the day” that the students can expect to hear when they come into the class. By incorporating something this small into the classroom the teacher immediately breaks the ice and gains the students’ interest. I had a teacher in high school that began each class with a funny story or a random fact. We, as students, looked forward to attending to his classes just to know what he had brought for us that day. He was a stern teacher, but everyone appreciated him because he showed an interest in us enjoying his classes.
An additional way that educators can make the class stimulating while maintaining student interest is to include voice fluctuations and floor coverage in their lectures. We have all experienced those teachers who never change their voice or their position on the floor during the course of an hour. These monotone voices and stand still positions are almost hypnotizing; students get sluggish and drop curiosity fast. My ideal teacher would use their voice to expand and carry on the students’ attention for the whole hour.
Using voice to emphasize an important point or even an incident that is being discussed can be very valuable in creating excitement for the students. When a teacher moves about the room, one will notice that the students will focus on the teacher and their eyes will follow. Simply moving their eyes to follow the teacher’s pattern of movements can be effective in keeping the student’s attention. A teacher could even reenact or act out using body actions for various topics. This would make the students chuckle and assure the teacher that the students are paying attention. Of course a teacher has to have well rounded knowledge of the topic to use these methods effectively.
Everyone assumes teachers have the intelligence and organization to teach in a classroom setting. This is not always the situation; I have learned this first hand. I have had teachers throughout my education in which I thought I could have taught the group better than they. The word intelligence carries a lot of power with it. I feel that a teacher gains or loses the respect from their students based on the means they present the knowledge they hold.
If a teacher appears to question their own knowledge of the subject, how are the students to perceive this? I have been in classes where the teacher has taken ten minutes of time out to look over bits and pieces that they have forgotten. Now I know that it is human nature to forget things; there is no way anyone can remember everything they have learned in their life. However, a teacher should be dependable enough to “brush up” on the background knowledge before attempting to teach a lesson. When something like this occurs and the teacher has to take time out of the class to review themselves, the students will start to whisper amongst each other. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing…”, or “Shouldn’t he know this by now…” are statements the students will begin to mutter while waiting for class to start back up again. This is an embarrassment for the teacher and the school, in my opinion.