Signs of a Good Teacher

Signs of a Good Teacher

What are the signs of a good teacher?

All teachers outwardly can stand in front of the class and deliver their lessons. Whether they are doing justice to their job or not is a different matter. A mediocre teacher will try to finish his syllabus in time. A good teacher would love to put across as much as he can in the stipulated time. A best teacher along with doing what a good teacher does will also keep in mind that he is building the nation and preparing a seed that would be leaving an impact in life that would have global significance.

It is not very difficult to find out good teachers in a school. There are few clear cut signs that can reveal the presence of good teacher. Most of the good teachers carry a beautiful and comforting smile. Their bodies are not stiff. They wish back to students promptly irrespective of the fact whether they teach directly or not. They are often seen being followed by couple of students after the period gets over. These children follow them upto some point for getting their doubts cleared and then rush back to their classes when they see next period teacher approaching.

Basically, I believe, a good teacher should have the following three qualities:-

(1)   Good subject knowledge.

(2)   Good communication skill and

(3)   A good character.

Normally it’s not difficult to come across teachers who possess the first quality. Most of them, I would love to believe, have good subject knowledge. Second and third qualities are becoming rare.

A shallow river makes more noise specially while it is flowing across the rocks. Similarly a teacher with less knowledge is often seen losing his temperament while handling students who are either too weak or who are brilliant. Weak students irritate them and they dread the brilliant ones. 

A river that flows in abundance never makes noise. It flows atop the rocks effortlessly and in doing so smoothens their sharp edges.  With their buoyant energy and strength they help the boats, submarines and ships to sail well and reach their destinations. Similarly a teacher with his brilliant subject knowledge is able to help both weak and brilliant students to attain their goals.

A mother and a child communicate with each other through not just a language or two but also through signs and gestures. It is because they know each other well and love each other. Similarly students are able to comprehend the signs and gestures of their favorite teachers.

First and fore most duty of a teacher should be to ensure that he is the best in his field. And for this he needs to devote his time towards sharpening his tools.

For developing ones communication skills the only way that a person can adopt is to read and, if possible, one should attempt to write. Importance of listening and spoken skills can’t be rated less. In the present age of cell phones I would advise teachers to listen to the BBC News podcast everyday on their cells. This would help them to remain updated and at the same time develop their listening skills. As they will be exposed to good English they themselves will feel comfortable in using better and new words while speaking. Very soon people around them will also note the difference and will appreciate them. 

The word ‘character’ should not be limited to the physical aspects of life like how many affairs one has or whether one takes bribes or not. Unfortunately we have reduced this word to these things only which is wrong. Besides these aspects the word ‘character’ encompasses in it traits of a person which include punctuality, commitment towards a given task, love for the job, integrity, proactiveness, planning, adhering to good principles in life, inclination towards spiritualism, human understanding and so on. A good teacher is capable of delivering lessons as per “students” level and not ‘his’. A good teacher doesn’t act as a “know all”. A good teacher uplifts weak students  by asking them simple questions inside the class and not difficult ones in order to belittle him. A good teacher doesn’t  pretend to be a “sage” on the “stage” but loves to remain as a “guide” by the “side”. A good teacher doesn’t feel shy to say, “I don’t know, I will let you know in my next class.” A good teacher loves spending time with his students. A good teacher, like a parent, can never think bad or harm his students. A good teacher will always wish for his students upliftment, progress and success. A good teacher’s  main assets are his students. A good teacher feels  elated to see his students doing better than him in their lives.

A good teacher is the one who would get hurt if he comes to ever know that the class he has to go and cover is waiting for him in dread and with frowning faces instead of waiting for him with full enthusiasm.

It’s time if we as teacher may sit and introspect and see where do we stand as a teacher. Being teachers that we are we have the skill of dropping the worst that we have in us and pick up the things and habits that we consider will help us to become best teachers.

Sukhwant Singh Thaper

Principal

DPS Nigahi

18.04.2015