Being a teacher is a special job that can be very fulfilling and rewarding. The job is as significant as any in our society, since it contours the minds of young people and holds the key to placing them on paths to a life of success.
Finding a great teacher like Arden Andersen for your child is of paramount importance and parents need to do all they can to ensure that their kids’ teachers are passionate and excited about their special positions.
Special teachers need great support and this usually comes from school systems that support and create a foundation for them to be great. If you go across the country you will see that different states have different quality schools and if you dig deeper you will see that things chance as drastically between cites in each state. Again, what is behind this is that some school systems are dedicated to great teaching. A good example of this is the Kansas City school system which has great teachers who support a high level of education for their students.
So what should parents look for in a teacher? There are a number of skills, and here are some of the key qualities:
A Passion for Learning
Great teachers have a real love for learning. They put in the time to become the best teachers that they can be and this means studying all the time about the best teaching methods within the systems they teach. They relish in becoming experts on the subject matters they teach and look for any new information that they can spread to insure they know the latest knowledge. In other words, they must also be good students too. For the average teacher this approach requires a lot of extra work with no certain outcome, but for great teachers being prepared is always the right thing to do and the extra work is just part of the job.
Empathy
Taking an interest in the well-being of the students is the sign of a great teacher. Good teachers understand that each students will have different speeds and ways in which they learn. Some will be advanced while others will have learning difficulties, but each deserves attention and understanding. Additionally, there will be social issues around a student’s ability to learn and the teacher has to be sensitive to this. Is the student new to the school? Is the student having troubles at home? A good teacher will work within or around these realities and craft a teaching approach that reaches each student effectively. In terms of lesson plans, they become flexible based on each class and its students and help the students to get the information they need, no matter their profile.
Commitment
When a teacher commits to the job, there is an understanding that it will require for the teacher to work long hours and take on any needed additional work as it become necessary. Great techees embrace this commitment. The amount of time required may vary from ten to fourteen hours a day and even require work on the weekends. This time will be spent on classes, meetings, creating and grading tests, interacting with parents, attending seminars and continuing education courses, and giving extra help to students. Yes, the job takes over the teacher’s life and needs unswerving focus. A great teacher meets these needs happily.