We cannot under estimate the impact that had a good teacher has on the learning and achievement of students. How we become good teachers depends on: the training that we had, where we work, our induction processes and the desire to continue to reflect, learn and improve our practice. A good teacher has to be flexible and able to adapt to their environment, the students that they are working with.
At the start of the week I reflected on charismatic teachers. These teachers the children want to please, but unfortunately the students intrinsic motivation is not developed. This should be one of the focuses in th elementary years. This does not mean that charismatic teachers are not good teachers as many of them can adapt and challenge students.
Throughout my career I have worked and developed a number of teachers, the use of standards have helped to define what teaching looks like and how teachers can develop over the time of their career. If used correctly teacher standards can be used as a tool to guide professional development and improvement. When they are used as a big stick then they loose their value. They make it easy to describe what a teacher is doing and provide a common language for this to occur. Like when working with students feedback is important and this feedback needs to be explicit and support growth, not just “well done” comments. They are also important if we are to draw a line in the sand, with those teachers who should not be in the profession. For there are always some people for whom teaching should not be a career. We have all seen them and need to be able to describe what is wrong with their practice so that we can either support them to improve or to find another careers.
Teachers need to understand the children that they are working with. They need to develop authentic relationships with the children that they are teaching, this is fundamental to any school. Without the development of positive relationships with all students then it does not matter how much you plan, challenge and develop the learning program it will not work. We need to remember in the words of Dr Kevin Maxwell:
Our job is to teach the students we have.
Not the ones we would like to have.
Not those we used to have
Those we have right now.
All of them.
Thoughts of a Life Long Learner 