Teachers need to be many things all at once inside and outside of the classroom. They often play more than one role in students lives because of the large amounts of time they spend with the students on a daily basis. While there are numerous qualities that are vital to be an excellent teacher, four that are absolutely crucial are patience, confidence, adaptability, and dependability. These qualities are all different but come together to help a teacher reach out to students on several levels while establishing a rapport that helps them to stand out among their colleagues to the kids. They display the teacher's ability to be in control and act as a role model and also show them as a figure that truly cares and is interested in the student's academic and social development.
To have patience is probably the most important part of teaching. Students learn at varying paces, they go through different things in their lives and their behavior and work can change constantly. A teacher needs to observe and understand the different ways that individuals learn and be patient when things take longer than planned or go slightly off course. Making students feel rushed or foolish during an assignment can damage their confidence in the course or even make them resentful and less likely to cooperate. In higher grades, students are also going through the changes that puberty brings, often causing them to have a much harder time staying focused on classwork. While maintaining control, patience is also crucial to letting the students know that it is okay to need extra time or help as long as they are trying.
The next quality that is extremely helpful in teaching would be confidence. Being confident in what you are teaching and how you are teaching makes the classroom atmosphere a brighter place. Having confidence makes the class easier to keep under control because they understand what they are supposed to be doing and when and even why. Classroom control is hard and when students sense that their teacher is doubting their own subject, they are less likely to care for it. It is obviously vital that the teacher establishes who is the boss in the classroom and what purposes the students are there for.
Adaptability is the only way a teacher can truly achieve their goal of reaching their students. Walking into the beginning of the year, there is no way to know what kind of challenges will come with each individual student. All of them will have different methods of learning that works best, some will be stubborn and others will be eager, and some topics just may not make any sense to them. When something isn't working the way it was supposed to, a teacher's job is to think on their feet. Lesson plans are guidelines but not every project idea will go over well with some classes and so it is necessary to be able to adapt to the circumstances and change things around until they suit the needs of the class.
The last important quality that teachers should possess is dependability. While being the instructor, educator, and role model in the classroom, a teacher can go above and beyond by letting their students know that they are trustworthy and can keep their word. A teacher should be open to listen to their students whether they have academic inquires or other personal problems. They should follow up on any offers of help they give to students and colleagues from the smallest acts of handing back grades on a certain day to staying after with a student who has fallen behind to volunteering at school functions. Being an encouraging and honest presence in the students lives is what can set a teacher apart and help them make a larger impact on their students for years after. These four traits together is what could make a teacher into someone students remember and emulate the qualities of for their entire lives.
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