Teaching is a demanding and rewarding profession. While most teachers are dedicated in their work, some seem to go the extra mile, inspiring and changing the students who pass through their classrooms. What is it that separates those teachers, that makes the difference between the teacher who is good and the teacher who is great? Five important skills define a great teacher.
Communication
Communication is key for teachers. If they can’t communicate, they can’t explain to their students. If they can’t explain, students can’t learn. Teachers who communicate well know how to break down a lesson or activity into comprehensible steps. They understand the needs of their students based on the students’ ages and skill levels. Lastly, they are able to both support and challenge students with their communication, giving students the needed tools to problem solve on their own.
Patience
Patience is needed for classroom management issues and for dealing with a diverse population of students and parents. In the course of a typical work day, teachers may deal with special needs students, students whose native language is something other than English and students with difficult home lives that affect their performance in the classroom, among other challenges. In addition, teachers must sometimes cover a lesson a number of times to ensure student comprehension. Finally, they must meet the expectations of parents, colleagues, supervisors and the community. Each of these situations requires a great deal of patience.
Organization
Teachers must be well-organized in order to keep up with student papers, grades and the school calendar, which includes in-service trainings and continuing education, special events and extracurricular activities, and meetings. Teachers need to track the progress of students individually, noting not only the scores they are receiving on their classwork but how they interact with their peers as well as other developmental markers. Time management skills are a part of organization as well, and teachers must be efficient to keep up with the work load as well as the paperwork.
Knowledge
Of course, teachers must be knowledgeable about their subject area. This would seem to go without saying, but sometimes teachers may find themselves assigned to teach an area that was not a focus of their studies in college. Or they may teach in a field such as science to which new knowledge and discoveries are being added every day. Furthermore, knowledge doesn’t just encompass an understanding of the main subject matter but a broad base of awareness about many topics. Great teachers enlarge the world for their students and equip them with a curiosity they can carry far beyond the classroom.
Leadership
Teachers have to be good leaders. Not only are leadership skills necessary for authority in the classroom, but they are also needed to motivate students. It isn’t enough to keep order. Teachers must make students want to learn, and without the ability to impart that desire to their students none of the other skills will matter. As leaders, teachers also model leadership skills to students, demonstrating to them how to lead a group and how to resolve conflict within that group.
Each of these skills can be learned and enhanced. Few teachers enter the classroom with all of these skills fully developed. Most teachers will be stronger in some areas than others. But with a combination of experience, dedication and ongoing training, every teacher can acquire these important skills, and with these skills in their toolboxes they can make the leap from a good teacher to a great one.