h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Vital traits:

Patience - Your students are going to ask stupid questions. They're going to miss the bleedingly obvious. That's why they're students. Never get frustrated, or, if you do, never let it show. The student will only get more frustrated in turn.

Communication - The ability to rephrase, restate, and analogize is absolutely necessary. People who aren't great communicators are poor teachers. You also have to be able to figure out what your student is, often clumsily, trying to feed back to you, so that you can evaluate your effectiveness and change tactics as appropriate.

Interest - If you're bored with the subject, your students will absorb that. If you're passionate, your students will absorb that. Well, not all of them. But if you're that passionate, they can't possibly ignore you.

Empathy - If every class assigns the requisite one hour of homework per night, the student ends up working 12 hours a day on school, without even considering any after-school activities such as sports or band. Do kids have that kind of discipline? I don't know many adults who do. Understand what you can reasonably expect them to do, and give them plenty of time to do it.

Accessibility - Individual time is difficult to give to students in large classes. Ensure you make time after hours for those students who request it. But even more important is to be someone they feel they can talk to. Tyrannical outbursts and a surly disposition will make you unaccessible to the kids. You must earn and keep their trust. The ugliest situations I've ever seen in school involved a teacher's breach of a student's trust... once you lose one, you lose them all. This creates an environment hostile to learning.

Bonus traits:

Irreverence - Students are by nature rebellious. If you show signs of the same, they will respect you immensely, and your antics will probably sate their urges to perform their own. That's why the teacher who insulted everyone that was mentioned above was so successful. I had a chemistry teacher that traded insults with the classmates, and a drama teacher who, among other things, couldn't say the name "Shakespeare" without spitting first. Needless to say, they both made an impression.

Variety - Teaching history? Tell some of the facinating little tidbits that *aren't* in the text. Teaching English? Give them a break from Tolstoy with some sort of humorous poetry exercise (but keep an eye on limericks about the man from Nantucket). Teaching math? Even the dullest subject in the world can be livened up... how about a group of algebra problems whose solutions decode a joke? Divide the class into relay teams that compete for prizes? I had one history class where we did a project where we created our own nations from the ground up, with maps, cities, exports, government constitutions, etc. Then we took them to war against each other, and learned to betray our friends. Another history teacher held a review session that looked quite a bit like the gameshow Jeopardy. My chemistry teacher held what I called "Explosion Day" on two occasions, and the name speaks for itself. One of the cooler tricks was when he filled a balloon with carbon (with a bit of hydrogen as an igniter) and hit the balloon with his lit candle... ash filled the room and rained down over everyone. Yet another history teacher reenacted the Revolutionary War tactics with his pointer, flying across the room with enthusiasm.

Hmmm... so many history teachers that were so cool... and today my favorite subject to study is... history. Coincidence?

Having been teaching solidly since the end of January I have to repeat that an endless,unexhaustable supply of patience is the key.I also concur that enthusiasm will get you through but as I'm actually teaching my specialist subject at the moment that is easy.When you are teaching a subject that is not one you are good at(a common occurrence for us supply teachers) it is not so easy to summon enthusiasm.If you can though it helps.The worst that will happen is that the students think you are potty but will accept you better and be prepared to work a little harder.

As a student (I'm not sure if the rest of you are ) My favourite teachers are the ones who, though obviously passionate about their subject, can have a joke about it occasionally. It really gets rid of the tension.
Teachers who are organised are good too; there is nothing worse than a teacher who promises all sorts of interesting assignments and is then too slack to carry them through (thank goodness that's not too many of my teachers this year ).
A teacher must have a sense of humour. [vital characteristic that all too many are missing].
Some teachers try to be really modern (keep up with all the fashions, music etc) and that's not too bad, but most kids don't like to feel that all THEIR stuff os known to adults.
Homework calls

P.E.W.

Anybody who went to Albany Senior High School in Western Australia will tell you that the best teacher at that school (and I've ever come across) was the history teacher. What made him so fantastic was that he put so much effort in organising everything for us, to make it interesting, to help us, and make sure we had the best available resources. He did expect a lot from us, but it was the only subject where we wouldn't slack off, simply because it would disappoint him. Most important was his amazing enthusiasm and passion for what he was talking about, that we couldn't help but join him in that...

The history he taught was always relevant to contemporary social, political and economic issues, and that knowledge has been extremely helpful in everything I've done so far. I hope he knows what a valued teacher he was and still is

Anybody who went to Albany Senior High School in Western Australia will tell you that the best teacher at that school (and I've ever come across) was the history teacher. What made him so fantastic was that he put so much effort in organising everything for us, to make it interesting, to help us, and make sure we had the best available resources. He did expect a lot from us, but it was the only subject where we wouldn't slack off, simply because it would disappoint him. Most important was his amazing enthusiasm and passion for what he was talking about, that we couldn't help but join him in that...

The history he taught was always relevant to contemporary social, political and economic issues, and that knowledge has been extremely helpful in everything I've done so far. I hope he knows what a valued teacher he was and still is

Being able to joke about the subject is definitely good. Although.. Our biology teacher is just naturally funny, but our Physics teacher just.. isn't.. and she thinks she is.. so don't try too hard.. and take the hint if you realise you're the only one laughing..

Getting the people you're teaching actually *involved* with the subject is definitely great. Practical stuff is always always always good.

And as my dad (teacher of teachers.. no, that's not me complimenting him.. he's a teacher teacher.. he teaches teachers.. oh I give up. ) knows, one of the best ways of getting someone to learn something is to get them to try and figure it out for themselves! Our History teacher last year (our form tutor now) used to pick on people randomly during lessons to answer questions which generally began with "why". This was great because not only did it lead to our understanding it more, but the fear of being asked next and not being able to answer kept us awake in lessons!
..Well, me, anyway..

Also.. one more thing.. not really a "quality" as such.. but it really helps to have a voice which won't get annoying...

Monkey see, monkey do is the first principal of teaching/learning.
If a student sees that knowledge of, or interest in, a 'subject' is something which contributes to the success of an admirable instructor then that subject has value. The postings above testify to many cases where a special teacher set people on their path.
Methodological teaching techniques will never replace inspiration-by-example. Sadly, the most vital quality a teacher can have, is one that most will lack, the natural ability to be an inspiration and a role model.

Although I may sound like just another student complaining, Ireally don't believe in teachers setting too much homework. THe classes that I and my friends have done best in are those in which there have been very little homework (or written work!). However, in these classes we have had LOTS of discussions. Talking about things is the best way to get them stuck in your head.
Teachers need to be good moderators of active discussion. I think a lot of teachers are secretly a little bit terrified of what may happen if they depart from the ordinary lesson plan.
I have had teacher (the best I have ever known) who often came into class completely unprepared, but HE KNOWS HIS SUBJECT, and that's the most important thing. If a teacher has only a vague idea of what they're supposed to be teaching, there is no way the class is going to work. That's one of the reasons classes fall apart when they have a relief (supply/substitute) teacher.
Homework calls

P.E.W.

Here's a quick test question to identify a good teacher.

Question 1. Fill in the gap.

I teach ...................

End of test.

Mark Scheme:

Young people - 2 marks
Children - 1 mark
Geography (or other subject of your choice) - 0 marks

In Ireland currently, you need to be very thick skinned - as the teachers are going on strike and refusing to mark the students exams.
The students and their parents are, um, upset.

Good one Amy. You are absolutely right, a teacher's first interest is the students, not the subject.
btw: I failed your test.
But thankfully I never became a teacher - I knew it would end in tears - lots of great chats - until they'd heard all my jokes and got bored of me - and none of the required material covered. Like a lot of teachers I would have just been looking for a captive audience - not really interested in their well being - or, god forbid, having to discuss subjects of my expertise with ignorant children.

"Although I may sound like just another student complaining, Ireally don't believe in teachers setting too much homework. THe classes that I and my friends have done best in are those in which there have been very little homework (or written work!). However, in these classes we have had LOTS of discussions. Talking about things is the best way to get them stuck in your head."

Yes but you can't revise from conversations you had six months ago. You can revise from written notes.

In the last 14 years I've been in the American Education system (no, I didn't fail, long story as to the 14 instead of 13), I've noticed that the really good teachers are the ones that actually *do* something in the field they teach. My biology teacher worked in botony and farms outside of school. My French teacher actually did a lot of international work (aside from a million other things). My English teachers have all been in the profession a long time-- and write and read actively (and not just what's in the cirriculum).

The best teachers I've had have all not been afraid to swear in front of the class. They haven't been afraid to discuss issues completely unrelated to the class during class time if they felt they were important. They weren't afraid to tell stories about their own lives. They weren't afraid to make fun of us, nor take a slight beating themselves. They've all put their entire life into teaching and learning-- this year my French teacher was deathly ill and *still* came into school on a *Sunday* to get us work to do during the next week! Teaching, to them, is not a seven to three job.

And they've all threatened to retire or leave because they didn't think that education was really being education any more... ie, they *care* about what's going on and how students are being taught.

Do you think the best things in life are free? Can you exist happily on student type food twenty years later?Can you sleep at night when your credit cards and your overdraft are near their limits? Can you honestly be happy when a son half your age earns well over twice your annual salary?You need to learn to make your own clothes or cultivate an up to the minute branch of Oxfam.

I object to the word "earn" as it implies worth

Lucky we had a test every month!

Seriously though, I found it quite easy to remember it all.

It has been pointed out to me that my above posting sounds bitter. I'm not. Most of my professional life has been interesting or fun or both. But I've never met a well-paid teacher

I didn't become a teacher for the money.I became one because my tutor told me I should as I was the big mouth who kept showing everyone how to do things better at school because I couldn't help myself.Now I can't imagine doing any other vocation.
I believe wholeheartedly in education,I believe it is the one way to give another person a real lasting helping hand.An education can free people from hunger,tyranny,poverty and I take comfort that I'm helping to make a better world in a very small way.

Sorry I'm off the soap box now.I think I'd better go and lie down this instant

Just to start off on the right foot: I am not a teacher nor could I ever possibly be one. Why?` I don't have patience.

But I went to school and I can see what happens when people talk to (and at) each other. The Myers-Briggs system of personality analysis (and probably several others which are similar) divides the world into various categories of people. Some get on with each other, some don't. So a teacher must develop a split personality, to get through to a maximum possible proportion of the students (s)he is talking to. This must be impossible.

The reverse of this is that there are a few pupils who are happy with any kind of teacher - and can work with any type of teaching and cope with all mentalities. Lucky them.

Everyone has experiences of teachers they got on well with but their best friend couldn't stand and vice versa. This applies to relationships with all people, of course, but your whole career can depend on what kind of teacher you got in what subject. It is very unfair, but c'est la vie.

(Look moderators - she used a foreign language - this must be stopped)