A New Leg on the Journey

Last week I started an internship to help me finish my certificate in postsecondary teaching. I am working with my thesis advisor in a 400 level course on family communication. I will, in a few weeks, have the opportunity to do some solo teaching but have already been a part of the teaching dialog in the first two class sessions. It has been a great experience so far. My hope is that this will equip me to do some teaching as I go forward. The longer I go, the more I am sure that teaching is really what I want to do for the long term.

Over the weekend I have had the opportunity to think a little about what teaching requires. What are the characteristics of the effective teacher? Well, obviously everyone will say knowledge. It would be impossible to teach without a substantial knowledge of the subject at hand. While I can't argue against knowledge, I will say that it would seem to me to be an assumed so I don't include it in my little conversation.

I think the first and most important characteristic is integrity. If the teacher can't be trusted as a person of integrity, students will be less likely to be vulnerable enough to invest in the learning dialog. Integrity means respecting the other person's point of view and affirming their worth even if disagreeing with their position. Integrity allows the student to engage in learning without fear of ridicule.

Then, a teacher needs passion. Students will be more inclined to get involved and be excited about the class if the teacher has an obvious love and passion for both the subject and the act of teaching. I am struck by the struggles my own children have in classes taught by teachers who obviously have no passion for teaching. They spend time yelling, repeating endlessly, fighting for the kids' attention, and seem unable to see the potential for growth in the individual students. It is a sad state of affairs when a teacher lacks passion.

Finally (for this post, at least) is preparation or a plan. One of the things I am learning while working with L is that she always has a plan for the class. As well as a plan B and C in case the original plan doesn't fly. While spontaneity has its place and can be very rewarding, a plan creates the opportunity for the spontaneity to achieve the purpose of the class session. While that seems contradictory at some levels, it really is not. When the class time has a specific purpose and plan with good structure supporting, a teacher does not fear--nor does he/she depend upon--the spontaneous happenings that can create shifts in methods. With the ultimate goal in sight, the prepared teacher can use the unplanned experience to further pursue the objective for the class session on a given day.

There are many other characteristics of a good teacher which may come up in future posts, but hey, it is only the beginning of the second week. Let's not get crazy!