What makes a teacher great?
Let us take a walk thru our school days. Do you remember a teacher who inspired you? What incident or the quality of her/him did you like? It's obvious you remember her/him for making a difference in your life. However small the difference could be.
I am experimenting with myself to become a teacher. I loved teaching (or training) my friends in school and colleagues in the office. But taking it formally requires some effort. I feel more than the effort, it is the sheer love and passion that can carry you on.
In my quest of learning and experimentation to become a good teacher, I watched a lot of TEDx talks on how to become a good teacher. Few of these TED talks inspired me to write this blog. The credits go to them.
First one being
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| Photo courtesy - Pinterest (Kimberly Allen | Art.com) |
Joe Ruhl talks about 2 things that makes a difference as a teacher
a) Teaching techniques - It is quiet obvious that the shift is from being teacher-centric to student-centric approach is the current expectation and will stay. Individualistic attention to every student, identifying their skills, potential, talent and areas of interest will make the learning curve peak. Teacher will also have a shift to become a coach who guides and nurtures a kid.
b) Relationship - The 2 loves that he mentions are the driving force behind a great teacher.
Love for the subject
Love for the student
We all know that the 4Cs needed in the 21st century are Collaboration, Communication, Critical thinking, Creativity. But the challenge is how does a teacher guide the students to learn these.
Second one being "Every kid needs a champion" by Rita Pierson
Some takeaways from Rita's TED talk are
a) Human connection - again co-relates to what Joe was mentioning in the relationship with students. The ability of the teacher to bond with the students and the likeability of the teacher is what she emphasizes on to make a teacher great.
b) Teachers are great actors in a way. Though the stage is different for this actor. But believe me the audience are smart and unless you perform the acting genuinely, the drama is not a success.
c) Most importantly teacher needs to apologize if he/she is wrong. A genuine apology from the teacher would make the world of difference to the student.
d) How to raise the self-esteem of the student? The way to present the positive side of even the failed situation would lift the student and make him better. Remember the +2 with a smiley on a 20 question quiz would bring the smile on the student face. That's sheer positivity.
Finally teaching and learning should bring the joy. Happy learning and teaching :-).
P.S. Video courtesy - YouTube TED talks
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