Titser

I actually was supposed to write a different entry today but I had to help out a friend on a favor.  She asked if I could write her an essay on what makes a good teacher.  I'm gonna copy paste the essay below, pardon me I wasn't able to really make a lot time for it but I hope it comes out right. Here y'go:

According to the Chinese, only teachers remain as themselves after they die.  Everyone else will transform into someone or something else but not the teacher.  They continue to instruct even in the afterlife until they are reborn again, instructing, philosophizing and opening minds as they have done in their past life.  In effect, the teacher may be of more social significance than a king or a general.  That, being a king or a general is temporal and being a teacher, eternal.

Defining a good teacher is relative to a learner, student or apprentice.  We all have ideas on what would make a good teacher and that though some of these ideas may contradict each other, most of them actually concur. 

A good teacher is someone who doesn’t just enter a classroom, he sweeps into it.  Like a larger than life figure standing in front of the students, he immediately catches their eye, instilling in them a sense of want, a thirst for learning that only the teacher can give.  They know they’re in for a ride and an adventure, and when he opens his mouth to speak before the class, they know the adventure has begun.  This trait could be loosely attributed to what some would call charisma or x-factor, something that cannot be defined but draws people to you.  They listen, they are mesmerized. 

However, no matter how interesting a topic or a subject is, an ordinary student has the potential to fully concentrate on the lesson for a maximum of twenty minutes, after which attention may not be complete.  This is why I believe that aside from charisma, a good teacher has a good sense of humor.  Having a good sense of humor helps relax the students and a chorus of the laughter automatically changes the monochromatic mood of class.  Even for a brief time, at least they are able to detach themselves from the academic and engage in some form of release.

A good teacher has mastery of his subject matter and knows how to deliver them well.  Delivery is influenced by tone, mannerisms, voice quality, gestures and type of media used.  As expected, a teacher should be more prepared, enthusiastic and learned as compared to his students.  In the event, however, wherein a student appears to be more knowledgeable or that the teacher fails to answer correctly queries from his students, isn’t it always admirable if the teacher accepts that he is at fault and corrects himself in the future?  Therefore, a good teacher is one not only of esteemed knowledge but also of exemplary humility.

Having a teacher that is intimidating and difficult to approach is definitely an unpleasant experience to any student.  Approachability is key to developing open communication between student and mentor.  A good teacher makes it a point that he is approachable while maintaining professional distance from his students.  That way, professional boundaries are established but an open line of communication is also formed.

There are many more attributes of a good teacher that may be discussed here but they will be taking too much space.  Among them, perhaps sacrifice is what I most admire.  Like a doctor, a missionary or a soldier, a good teacher contributes, works, gives himself out a little more beyond the call of duty and responsibility.  It is as if he feels accountable for the future successes or failures of his students.  He gives more than what he is paid for, empowers by motivation and inspires through his actions.  And for me, the highest point of being a good teacher is when you get to realize that you have transcended from being just a teacher to that of a true educator.  You do not just teach, you educate thereby changing your students’ frame of mind and ways of thinking.  The mark of a true teacher, hence, is a total transformation of student, disciple or apprentice.  It is something that is seldom seen by the naked eye.  It is something not immediate and may only manifest in the years to come.  That is when a teacher and a student long gone see each other once more and the students thanks the teacher for all he’s done.  That simple token of appreciation empowers the thousands of teachers around the world, all tired, weary and fed up to go on, to push a little harder, to make learning worthwhile.  For though learning may come from anywhere, a good teacher always leaves an indelible mark in your person, inerasable and eternal.