What makes a good teacher?

What Makes a Good Teacher?

Very often in our life we talk about our teachers, what we like about them and what we do not, what we think is good about them and what is not. In this sense, we discuss from our, sometimes inexperienced, conception the factors that make a good teacher. The thing is that now that I am becoming a teacher, I have to think about this aspect as something not only for evaluating someone else’s behaviors, practices, and methods; but also mine. In this regard, some elements that make a good teacher are a willingness to be good; the ability to develop a good rapport with students; a patient, caring, and kind personality; knowledge of learners; an engaging personality and teaching style; and passion for teaching. First things first, in regards to the first element, I think a good teacher is someone who is always searching for improvement and no matter what can go wrong is willing to take a risk if it is what they think may be good. Secondly, good teachers are the ones who can construct a friendly but firm environment and relationship with their students. Therefore, good teachers should not limit themselves just to go and teach a lesson, but they should have the ability to build trusting relationships that make students feel comfortable in order to create a safe, positive, and productive learning environment. Thirdly, some aspects more related to the teacher's personality are characteristics related to being compassionate and sensitive to students’ differences. Another aspect has to do with knowing the students. A good teacher is someone who acknowledges each one of their students, their differences, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and interests and makes of that the base for their planning. Something else is the teaching style, which involves engaging students in the learning process and holds their attention in a way that they enjoy the process. Last but not least, the passion for teaching. I think this is one of the most important factors since when you are passionate about something; you enjoy what you do and do not see it as a thing you must do, but as something that brings you happiness. Besides, since the teacher is one of the responsible factors in the learning process, a passionate teacher will make students feel a good environment. In addition, aspects such as organization, knowledge about the subject matters, and good classroom management skills are other aspects that contribute to making a good teacher but that are not enough.