Teaching is one of the most honorable and respected professions in the world. Teachers are looked at with love, admiration and respect due to the place they hold in society and the fact that they are entrusted with setting our youth on a course that will cause them to be successful throughout their lives.
The vast majority of teachers are great at their jobs. Exceptional ones like Chris Bugbee take their job seriously and understand the responsibilities that they have to the students, parents, the principal, and even the school’s board of trustees. However as with any profession, not all teachers are wonderful. This presents a problem if you are a parent and they’re interested in making sure that your children’s teacher is one that you should be happy to have or should be concerned about. Here are a few things to look for to tell if your children’s teacher is a great one.
They Have a Passion for Teaching
Good teaching requires that the teacher has a passion for the subject being taught. Young teacher recruits go to school to get the specific training on the subject matter they will be teaching to their students.
It might be Math, Science, History, or English, whatever the topic, they have spent the bulk of their time in college understanding that subject. The best teachers develop a passion for the particular topic they teach. You can hear it in their voices and even see it in their demeanor that they are genuinely excited to deliver the information about the topics they teach.
At the core of teaching is requirement to create positive interactions with your students. When you are teacher you cannot select the students that end up in your class. You can expect that there will be some that you make instant connections with and others that are challenging from the beginning. You can also expect that during the year some of these situations will remain or change, some will get better, and others will simply deteriorate.
Throughout it all, the teacher must remain focused and enthusiastic towards the students and towards teaching. What this requires on behalf of the teacher is a passion for teaching and a love for students. This demeanor helps the teacher work through the problems that will occur throughout the year.
They Always Make Time for Students
Great teachers understand that not every student will be able to grasp the information being taught at the speed and depth required. This means that some students will need additional assistance to make the grades that they seek. Great teachers make allowances for this additional time needed and ensure that they are available to provide extra help to students. They also create tools to augment the teaching in the classroom that students can utilize to supplement their learning. Great teachers factor in the additional time required to do all of this, because they understand that these things are needed in order to help students to reach their full potential.
The good news is that whether your family is in Colorado or the state of Connecticut, you can find a good school with a reputable education department that focuses on hiring the best teachers. With this said, you will not have to worry about feeling harassed to find great teachers, you only have to do your homework to guarantee that your kids end up with great ones.
