The three most important qualities of an outstanding educator to me are enthusiasm, content knowledge, and professionalism. Regarding enthusiasm, I think students can gain a much higher appreciation for a subject if their teacher has a great appreciation for it and demonstrates that enthusiasm in class each day. That appreciation will surely come out in every lesson and every paper topic and every test that teacher gives his or her students. If a teacher demonstrates a lack of enthusiasm about his or her subject material, this disinterested behavior can adversely affect students’ interest not only at the present time but also in the future, causing a student to show the same lack of interest in the subject. With an enthusiastic teacher, however, students who ordinarily dislike English just might find something that they like about a Shakespearean play if their teacher shares his or her enthusiasm with the class.
In order to have a foundation for her enthusiasm, a teacher must possess a vast knowledge of the content area she is teaching. A teacher should be well read and open to reading both the classics as well as new and different texts; with such a repertoire of texts from which to draw in a classroom discourse, a teacher can connect different and similar ideas in writing to the texts that a class is studying. In my experience, when a teacher can connect ideas in literature to other writers who have written on the same concepts, it brings to the students a better understanding of those concepts. A multitudinous content knowledge along with an enthusiastic teacher makes for an exciting and intelligent class each day.
Thirdly, a teacher should be professional in that he must maintain urgency in terms of accomplishing the objectives he has set forth in the lesson plan. This minimizes the possibility of students getting distracted and taking the lesson in directions other than where the teacher intended. Such teaching tactics would also stop most discipline problems before they even occur. Finally, with such great enthusiasm and vast content knowledge, a teacher should be so interested in teaching so much material that he needs all of the time that he can afford.
In order to reach one’s objectives in the classroom, it is imperative to maintain a strong sense of urgency and professionalism. These three qualities—enthusiasm, content knowledge, and professionalism—would, when combined, make an outstandingly entertaining and efficient teacher.
Author:
Jill Kingsland
Last modified:
6/19/2005 1:23 PM (EDT)
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