A good teacher...

A good teacher is someone who is perceptive to the needs of her students as far as the level of instruction and amount of personal attention. They need to be able to differentiate levels of instruction so that all students are challenged including the exceptional students, who otherwise might escape notice because of their exceptionality.

A good teacher models appropriate, respectful behavior in and out of class so the students regard them as professional and ethical. They build a rapport with their students and allow them to feel comfortable and safe. These are important aspects of teaching because students look to their teachers for guidance but they need to trust and respect them to ask for help or to model their behavior in a similarly positive fashion.

A good teacher lets all students know they are an integral part of the class and their participation is encouraged and necessary to maximize the experience of all. A student will learn if they are actively involved in the learning process and the way to do this is to engage them in class and encourage them to participate. A teacher can be engaging by passionately instructing and using different methods to make class fun and motivate students. Students may be intrinsically motivated but the teacher still needs to be able to tap into that motivation and maximize it, keep it going when a student may be feeling burnt out or disconnected from their goals.


If: a teacher is notices a flaw in their instruction (i.e. time management),
Then: it should be addressed directly to the class as a flaw on their part and corrected in the future,
Because: students will also learn from the experience and know it is alright to make mistakes. Students often feel uncomfortable making mistakes in class, saying the wrong thing, but
Evidence: Hansen would feel this is an example of the teacher modeling how to accept responsibility for a mistake and correct it for future classes.
Context: This type of open atmosphere is created and demonstrated by the teacher in an environment of tolerance and a class without fear of embarrassment or failing.
Moral Implication: A good teacher will encourage students to make mistakes because it is part of the learning process. When a teacher shows how easily a mistake can be addressed and corrected, students will not be as fearful of doing something wrong. This open, accepting atmosphere allows them to feel comfortable to explore and discover while not fearing the ramifications of coming to a wrong or mistaken conclusion. Persistance, which is being encouraged, is an essential quality of all human beings in creativity, exploration, innovativeness. Many inventions of the world only exist due to the persistance of the inventor, who did not allow themselves to give up.