What Makes a Good Teacher?

Everyone has something to say about how there are too many "bad" teachers in American schools these days, even people who wouldn't be caught dead teaching school themselves.  I have found that even teachers and principals can't put their finger on what exactly distinguishes a good teacher from a bad one.  Is a teacher who gives all A's better than a teacher who fails half the class?


I once had a colleague who would complain through lunch every day about her daughter's teacher.  According to this mother, the girl's teacher graded her unfairly, picked on her, and gave her a lot of grief at school.  What a terrible teacher! we all thought.  We suggested our colleague take up her concerns with the principal and see if she could do something about her daughter's teacher woman and perhaps put her on warning.  The mother's reaction was, "But she's such a good teacher!"  As confused as she obviously was, she's not the only one.  We expect principals to know what they're doing when they make hiring decisions, even though they often make some terrible calls.  My on-line friend Ebony Thomas, who teaches in Detroit, brought this article to my attention, and we both thought the author described the problem admirably: http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/08/29/confessions_of_a_bad_teacher/


Here are some qualities many people expect to see in teachers we call good:

• Ability to keep students under control and out of the principal's office (a top priority for Ms. P)
• Ability to produce high standardized test scores (another top priority for administrators)
• Ability to keep accurate records
• Ability to keep one's "cool" under stress
• Intelligence
• Knowledge of one's subject
• Love and enthusiasm for one's subject
• Concern and respect for children
• Love for children
• Ability to communicate with children
• Popularity
• Creativity
• Sense of humor

Here is the one quality I would name, that I thinks sums it all up: 

• Leadership.

As my friend Tina put it, the most important thing students need to learn is how to do things they don't want to do.  It doesn't matter how well the teacher knows the subject or how brilliant the teacher's lesson plans are if the teacher can't inspire or motivate the students to do the homework, study the material, and do well on the tests.