First, let’s talk about good teachers. In my opinion, a good teacher…
Enjoys working with kids and teenagers. This is an important quality that I think a teacher should have. If you don’t like kids or teenagers, why would you want to work with them five days a week?
Has knowledge in the area that they are teaching. How are you going to teach English if you don’t know how to speak it? I believe that a good teacher should also be knowledgeable in their subject. Not only that, but they should know how to speak it.
Is creative. They don’t just read from the book and hand out worksheets for the kids to do. A good teacher will find a way to bring the topics to the students’ context and make it more relevant to them.
Is fair. Someone was talking while everyone was supposed to be working? Don’t just give them a report; find out why! A kid needs to go to the bathroom? Maybe it’s an emergency; don’t automatically assume that they just want to get out of class.
Is professional. While some kids and teenagers might think a teacher is ‘cool’ because they swear, it’s not very professional and it could get them in trouble if a kid tells their parents that the teacher was swearing in class. Especially if the parents are against swearing. And although there are moments that a teacher should be allowed to use their cellphone, it isn’t a good idea to be texting or checking social media during class.
What about ‘bad teacher’ qualities? I think that a bad teacher…
Hates their job. There’s nothing worse than having to be taught by someone who doesn’t even like you, nor are they passionate about their subject, and are only working there to get paid.
Is rude and disrespectful. There is no reason to bully a student. Ever.
Puts their personal biases before the needs of the student. Of course there are people we like more than others; that’s why we are friends with some people but not with others. But in class, you should be fair and give everyone equal opportunities.
Doesn’t follow the school rules but punishes kids for not following the same rules. If you are a teacher, you should be the example that the kids follow. If you do not adhere to the rules in school and are constantly breaking them, why would you punish a kid if they break the same rule?
I hate those teachers who just treat the kid who is better at studies nicely, but degrades the other student who isnt as good as the first one i’ve been the ‘other student’ before it sucks
I don’t like teachers who punish kids for getting bad grades or yells at them for not understanding the material. I also don’t like teachers who blame it on the kids if the whole class doesn’t understand stuff, obviously then it is the teacher’s fault and not the kids. I had a teacher last year who was a good teacher and when we all as a class didn’t understand something she would take time to explain it again and also explain that it was her fault as a teacher that we didn’t understand it. She also worked with the kids that had low grades in the class so they could pass. She had a ton of extra credit opportunities and stuff like that which was really nice.
Meanwhile I also had a teacher that kinda got annoyed with us when we didn’t understand the very confusing science book and told us to read closer.
A good teacher shouldn’t scare their students and should be approachable in case a student has a problem. They should never scream at their students or belittle them for asking questions. Favouritism is one of the worst qualities a teacher can have because it makes you feel uncomfortable no matter if the teacher loves or hates you… They should be able to understand jokes and not share too much of their private life with their students (I really hate when I end up learning more about a teacher’s third cousin’s car insurance than about the subject they’re teaching…). They should also encourage students to express themselves and never shame students for being “different”.
They should just be a nice person who likes their job and can take criticism. And they should be able to explain the subject and why the work you’re doing in class is necessary because I’m tired of doing pointless exercises…
Did/do your teachers have more bad or good qualities?
I had a teacher in high school that was so chill and down to earth, she looked at us as were practically the same level and was honestly friends with us
There wasn’t a single person in my class (or in school in general that I’m aware of) that didn’t like her
She was literally amazing and made classes fun and chill and not annoying whatsoever
Don’t mind me, I’m just taking notes so I can make sure my students won’t hate me when I start teaching.
Hilariously, I’m going to be a math teacher and after (the equivalent of) 4 years of a teaching degree, I still haven’t learned why half the stuff I have to teach is necessary myself. We’re just taught to how to do it and that’s it (just like in high school, but with even less context because no ‘real-life example’ questions) - so I understand your frustrations completely.
Agreed, I don’t agree with that stupid ‘Don’t smile until December’ saying. I tried being serious on the first day of school last year because I thought students wouldn’t take me seriously if I was too friendly. But the students were so nice and friendly that it was hard not to smile. Students need to see that you care about them. DO smile. Be yourself!
Definitely, a teacher should never belittle students for asking questions, no matter how dumb. Maybe the kid was distracted or thinking about something else when directions were given, and don’t know what to do. As for screaming, sometimes I’ve been guilty of yelling at a whole class when they didn’t want to listen or behave. But I definitely do not think a teacher should yell at one particular student nor embarrass them in front of the class.
I’ve also been guilty of this, unfortunately… not to the point of comparing students or making the favorite a classroom example, but there were certain students I connected with better than others.
I like joking around with the kids. Sometimes I do share personal things but as a way to relate it to the theme and give examples of the vocabulary or grammar structure in a more personal context. But not, like, getting off topic, or telling long, boring stories.
