Genius Freak

For the student who wrote this, the balance of caring and content is clearly important to good teaching.  For her, and for most students, a "good teacher" is adept at establishing a relationship based on mutual respect and making the subject interesting and accessible to all students. A Good Teacher:  A good teacher is balanced in kindness and strictness.  A good teacher is polite yet stern in a subtle way.  The pupils should respect the teacher as a person.  Some teachers are rude to their students, who give them problems in return. A good teacher makes learning fun and delivers it in an exciting way.  An average teacher is boring and relays information like a robot - assigning homework and naming the day of a quiz. I feel teachers should teach with several different approaches so as to interest all the different learning patterns teens have. Humor is key - there should be lightness yet formality to a class. -Tamara Relationships, relevance and...

This installment of crowdsourcing was contributed by a student who was a high school junior at the time, and who is now putting his ideas about good teaching to use in his own classroom where he teaches social studies to middle school students. A Good Teacher... is not too serious.  We're still kids; not adults. is willing to run with something, not sticking to the plan word for word. is caring and understanding. is a friend, but not.  A good teacher can listen and talk like you're equal, but can still command discipline and respect. knows the subject inside and out. is also well-versed in other subjects, especially topics similar to their subject. does lots of open discussion. had good public speaking ability. is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.

It used to be that our graduating seniors were given the opportunity at the commencement ceremony,  in conjunction with the reading of their names as they received diplomas, to offer 10 additional words.  They could use them for parting words, celebrations, expressions of gratitude for parents, friends, and others who stood by them along their way.  Right around that time, I changed classrooms, from 1 to 235.  And as we made 235 our home, it seemed to take on a life of its own. Some students in one graduating class opted to use at least some of their 10 words to give a shout out to 235.  Somehow, I wasn't sure how, 235 came to stand for more than just a room number.  One of the assistant principals at the time, on seeing so many references to 235 on seniors’ graduation cards asked, “What is this 235? Some sort of gang affiliation?” No, not a gang. But an affiliation - yes.   Etymologically that word comes from roots that mean to adopt a son.  ...

This list of traits possessed by good teachers was put together by a sophomore several years ago. Good Teachers Have: Patience! Respect An understanding of what they're teaching the ability to communicate what they know trust of students an open mind a sense of humor the ability to relate to their students The exclamation mark on patience! was included in the original. As I reread this list, what jumps out most to me now are "respect" and "trust of students." I'm wondering if the student meant that the teacher trusts and respects the students, or the students trust and respect the teacher. I like the ambiguity; both are important, and grow out of each other.

Another installment from my trove of student reflections on good (or in this case, "grand") teacher.  As the collection builds, patterns will emerge.  I have no doubt that these collected responses will reflect what scholars of teaching have identified as things good teachers do. The key traits, from my experience, for a grand teacher are as follows: (Reflections of Chris M.) 1. Down-to-earth-ness: By this I mean that the teacher creates a humorous and open environment.  I tend to learn better when discussing instead of just taking notes. 2. Well-read intelligence: It's important to have a teacher who honesty knows what he/she is teaching, and who can really talk with you about the subject. 3. Passion: A good teacher is generally someone who loves his/her subject. 4. Creative:  A good teacher creates a class where you are involved and do interesting activities.                          ...

I’d confidently wager that just about every book on how to be a teacher says that the first day is the most important day of the year.  That’s when you set the tone for the 179 to come.  Cliche, yes, but what pressure! What is the tone you want to set?  And how are you going to get there?  Seems to me, if there aren’t a few butterflies fluttering around those questions, you aren’t thinking about them enough. (Generic you, of course.) Compound that with the power of first impressions, and oh man.   In his bestselling “celebration of the power of the glance”(14)   Blink , author Malcolm Gladwell gives an inkling of how important those first 40 minutes can be, and how lasting are the judgments made in those minutes.  Gladwell describes the power of the unconscious and spontaneous decisions we make regularly about the new people and ideas we encounter daily. He poses this question:  “How long, for example, did it take you, when you were in college,...

I spend a lot of time thinking and reading and writing about what traits and practices make for good teaching.  One of the best sources for my own professional learning on the subject has always been the students I've shared my classroom with.  Feedback from students has helped me develop and hone my pedagogy.   Over the years I have collected a trove of student reflections and insights into what their best teachers do. I'm going to share some of them here.  Many of the reflections were written anonymously, but I know the students whose insights I post will be happy to contribute to this conversation. To Be a Good Teacher (according to a student) It's really important that you know your subject matter.   You have to set high expectations for your students and help them reach those goals. You have to have a sense of humor. You have to be approachable. Be respectful and people will return that respect. Let the students know that you are available to help ...