Characteristics of a Good Teacher

I believe almost everyone entertains this idea at least once in their life. There are certain jobs everyone thinks would be fun, challenging, prestigious, or cool. Being a DJ is a good example. Most people would love a chance at having their voice broadcast over the radio at least once. The problem with teaching is that often-times people go into teaching because they aren't good at anything else...and once they are in, it has traditionally been hard to get them out. The old maxim says, "Those who can't, Teach!" But legislation like No Child Left Behind and increased public sentiment that teachers and other educators should be held accountable-- however they or you define that--has placed increased scrutiny on who should be educating our kids and we expect our teachers to be able to practice what they teach.

Well, I have worked with educators and children for 14 years professionally, 4 years before that as an undergraduate student, and obviously I was a public school student myself. I have a Bachelors in Secondary Education, a Masters of Education in Secondary Administration, a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy Analysis, and the Superintendency, and I am certified as an English Teacher, Art Teacher, Principal, and Superintendent. So I feel like I am qualified to tell you what characteristics make a good teacher and give you some warnings about what teaching will entail.

1. Do you like kids? This seems like an obvious question, but I have met and worked with teachers who absolutely hate kids. They may not have initially, but after 30 years in the profession, they hate coming to work and kids hate being in their class. If you have any doubts that you can handle 30 to 40 years being around kids, don't do it!

2. Do you love money? Teaching isn't going to make you rich. Not within our lifetime. You will make a good, comfortable wage, but you had better be good at managing your money...especially if you work in a place that only pays you once a month like I do.

3. Are you organized? Teaching requires you to meet deadlines, honor committments, and model responsible behavior to students. If you are constantly losing things, you are going to have mad kids and parents demanding you find their missing work. If you have a reputation for this, you can't defend yourself when the kid claims they turned it in and you know they didn't.

4. Are you positive? If you are negative, you will be poison to students and to a school. Sarcasm means "to cut flesh" and is one of the worst forms of negativity in the classroom. If you are positive, you could be the only good thing that happens to many students from the time they wake up until they go to sleep.

5. Are you smart? Kids deserve teachers who are at least average in intelligence. Most teachers I know are above average in intelligence, but fall short in other areas.

6. Do you love your subject matter? Imagine that you hate something, but you are required to talk about it, explain it, and live it day in and day out for 30 years. You need to love math, English, art, music, whatever enough that it will consume you. If you want to be an elementary teacher, you had better love everything.

7. Are you good with words? You had better be able to explain things in different ways since every kid learns differently. Paint a picture with words, draw a diagram, act out a concept, create a game, anything as long as you can tackle each problem from at least 3 angles.

8. Do you have a thick skin? Parents are mean. You are responsible for their baby and everything will be your fault unless you contact them before the child does regarding a problem, behavior, grade, etc. You will also have to defend your actions when you feel you should not have to...but it goes with the job so be prepared. This is one that you can start out thin on and grow a thicker skin as time goes on. But, many teachers wash out because they never get there.

9. Do you just want to coach? Many athletes go into education because it allows them to relive the glory days over and over and teaching social studies or physical education is just a side job. You are cheating every child in your class every day if you are coaching first and teaching second.

10. Are you willing to make sacrifices for children? You will sacrifice many things. Long days. Long nights. Low pay. Time missed with your own kids. The summer months are simply time set aside to allow you to regain your sanity...and you will still be thinking about the past year and next year the whole time as you write lesson plans, gather materials, work in your classroom, etc. Some teachers have made the ultimate sacrifice and step in front of a bullet to protect their students from crazy people that threaten our schools.

These are just a few things you need to think about before pursuing teaching as a career. I have successfully recruited good and bad teachers alike, but I am looking for clues to the questions above when I interview a potential teacher. Usually, I can make this determination in about 5 minutes. Deciding to become a teacher will affect the lives of hundreds to thousands of kids over the course of your career. Choose wisely! Teaching Career Resources