Article 1

What are the Personal Qualities of a Good Teacher?

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A teacher requires a number of personal as well as professional qualities. To become an effective teacher the teacher has to gain some personal qualities.

If a teacher is lazy and lacks enthusiasm and lie will to do hard work, he cannot be expected to inculcate these values in pupils. Pupils arc keen observer. They are intelligent enough to observe discrepancies between what a teacher preaches and how he actually behaves. If a teacher is smoker, he has no right to advise his pupils to avoid smoking. If the teacher dishonest and avoids his/her duty, he/she has no right to advise his/ her pupils to be honest and sincere.

Values like honesty, truthfulness, loyalty, punctuality, cleanliness, dedication, affection etc. are imbibed, through observations of other's behaviors rather than taught. A teacher has to stand as a model for his/her pupil so as to provide a lasting and inspiring example of ever they arc to have in them these qualities of personality and character. Some of the important personal qualities of a teacher are the following:

(i) Affection:

It is the basic traits that a teacher needs to have. Every one of us expects a certain amount of affection in every teacher. There is no human being on the earth who does not crave affection from those around, especially from parents and teachers. A teacher should show love and concern for his pupils. Without affection a teacher cannot feel for his pupil wanted and accepted.

(ii) Empathy:

Empathy enables us to feel concerned with our pupils' problems and the efforts we make to cope with them. This quality enables us to understand our pupils better both emotionally as well as intellectually. On the child's eye view we need a lot of emotional, flexibility. Empathy enables us to be judicious, impartial and objective.

It will engender us the requisite understanding to avoid stereotyping and prejudices and treat all pupils with equanimity irrespective of the background from which they come. Empathy creates in us a better awareness of the functioning of a child's mind which in term would permit us to avoid the use of words that insult and actions that hurt. As a teacher we must has empathy as a personal quality.

(iii) Concern and Commitment:

In a teacher there must be two more qualities viz. genuine concern and commitment to the tasks. As dedicated and concerned about the development of our pupils as their parents generally arc and then try to do all within our ability to see that they are given an opportunity for their growth and development.

As a teacher, we must remember that the improvement seldom occurs spontaneously. It is attained through deliberate effort. To reach a child's mind, we must reach and capture his/her heart. Only when a child feels right, he/she can think right.

If we want to improve our relations with children, we need to unlearn our habitual language of rejection and a new language of acceptance. If we are genuinely interested in the well being of our pupils, we need to be authentic, genuine and sincere. We do not have to demonstrate hypocrisy by acting nice, when we feel nasty.

(iv) Humour:

The sense of humour is a good trait in a teacher. Whenever we combine elements in a way that is different, unexpected and incongruous, we wind up with humour. As a teacher, we should develop the ability to play spontaneously with ideas, concepts and relationships.

We should have the ability to juggle elements into impossible juxtaposition and express the ridiculous. All of these can bring in an atmosphere of humour in the classroom. It can arouse laughter or a smile on their lips, which would make their mind lighter. Humour can turn out to be a good tool in the hands of an enlightened teacher.

(v) Other Characteristics:

Personal values like cleanliness, punctuality and honesty are the ornaments of a teacher. The presence of these personal values enable him transmit then to the pupil like a lamp which lights another lamp into equal brightness. A pupil can be inspired with a teacher to be honest, punctual, and truthful. Mercy can be taught only mercifully. The other characteristics arc smartness with the work, alertness and quality in the views etc.

Article 2Characteristics of a Good Teacher: What it Takes to Make the Grade

Dawn Thompson, Yahoo Contributor NetworkSep 19, 2007

MORE: Good Teachers

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Many people have had some type of education, whether it was grade school, high

school, college, tutoring, formal or informal. Many people remember a special

teacher because of how he or she presented him or herself to students. Anyone can

be a teacher, but a good teacher displays certain characteristics that are found both

in and outside the classroom.

A good teacher displays self confidence. She has control of the classroom and

the students know who is in charge. The teacher takes pride in her work and strives

for excellence. She knows what to teach and how to teach it.

A good teacher is a consumer of knowledge. He knows the subject material and

is always searching for new methods and ideas to use. He shares his knowledge

with his students and colleagues. A good teacher is also looking for ideas to develop

himself professionally and personally.

A good teacher is prepared. She prepares her lessons and materials in advance.

She follows a regular routing, is organized and has activities readily available. She

is also prepared for lessons that do not go as planned. She has backup plans and is

willing to change her plans if needed.

A good teacher listens. She listens to her students engage in conversations with

one another and encourages her students to engage in conversation with her as

well. She is tuned in when a student is having difficulty understanding subject

material or when a student is having personal issues. She knows when to step in

and when to back off.

A good teacher motivates. He motivates his students to learn and to take on

projects independently. He has an enthusiasm that is contagious to his students and

colleagues.

A good teacher is fair. She gives all of her students a chance to succeed in her

classroom even when the conditions at home are not favorable for the student. She

allows students to do their best and recognizes those that try.

A good teacher has a sense of humor. He knows when to laugh at himself and

when to laugh with the class. Humor within the classroom can ease any frustration

that the teacher and/or student may be experiencing at that moment.

A good teacher has a passion for teaching. Teaching is her number one priority.

She talks, writes, and breathes teaching. She wants to make a difference in the lives

of her students even if it is just one and gives her best in her classroom.

Anyone can be a teacher, but only few can become good teachers. The development

of a good teacher is a slow, ongoing process. It requires dedication and discipline to

the profession.

Published by Dawn ThompsonDawn lives in a small rural town in Southeast Georgia. She uses her her personal knowledge and interests to write about a wide array of topics including education, parenting, relationships, decorating, craf...  View profile

Article 3

Top 7 Characteristics and Qualities Of A Good Teacher

"A good teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." - Henry Adams.

Every teacher wants to be a good teacher, but what is this myth about being a 'good teacher? Who is it? What are the characteristics of a good teacher? And how can you become a good teacher?

Teaching jobs are often lucrative and satisfying for people who love to teach. I am a teacher too, though I do not think myself as a very good teacher, but I know one thing that majority of my students do love me, and I guess this is the point where good things start to happen.

I was thinking about what are the characteristics of a good teacher and how can I become a good teacher? or Which characteristics and qualities should a good teacher possess? So I came up with some qualities which I found most relevant for a person involve in a teaching job. I

believe if a teacher possesses the following characteristics and qualities, he/she can become a very good teacher with a lot of fan base too.

CHARACTERISTICS AND QUALITIES OF A GOOD TEACHER:

Following are the characteristics and qualities of a good teacher:

1. Friendly and Congenial:

I think the most important characteristic of a good teacher can have is to be friendly and congenial with his students. It is a plus point for a teacher, if his students can share their problems with him, without being afraid or hesitant. I think students have always thoughts their teachers as their enemies (in a funny sense though :p). With this mentality, they can never be close to each other, and besides that how many teachers did you like who were NOT friendly, and were rather arrogant and rude?

2. Personality:

A good teacher has a very good personality; there is no second thought about it. Students always get attracted to teachers with good personality and characteristics which leads to better communication, understanding and ultimately good results. Everyone can have a good, decent, likable and presentable personality. Just dress sensibly good, smell good, and be a little gentle and kind. That's all.

3. Knowledge and Teacher's Education:

Another important characteristic of a good teacher is his knowledge and own education. As there is a saying that 'a teacher is only as good as his knowledge is'. After all, he is doing a teacher's job, which is to teach. If he himself lacks in the knowledge of a certain subject that he teaches, he is never going to make a name for himself as a good teacher. So, sign up with only that subjects which you have really good expertise; and it is a moral duty of every teacher too. Otherwise, it is not worth it.

4. A Good Communicator:

One of the very important characteristics of a good teacher is his communication skills. He should be a very good speaker. This characteristic will benefit a teacher in several ways. For example:

i) If his communication skills are good, he can convey his lectures with better skill and results.

ii) If a teacher is a good speaker, his class strength increases automatically. People love to hear a person who he can speak well enough. There is always a shortage of good speakers in the world ;)

5. A Good Listener:

Apart from being a good communicator, a good teacher should also have the characteristic of being an even better listener. As there is Turkish proverb:

"If speaking is silver; then listening is gold."

Remember, a good listener will always have many friends and fans. Because people do not want to hear every time, they need persons who can listen to them as well. And when a good teacher develops this patient quality in himself, he starts to become a great teacher.

6. Good sense of humor:

A good teacher should also have the quality and characteristic of having a good sense of humor. It is a logical fact, that a person generally teaches the next generation and as they are younger than the teacher, they are expected to have more fun in the class too. So, a good teacher is the one who can cope up with his sense of humor, and with his strong communication skills and personality, can also maintain the discipline of the class.

7. Be Kind:

The last but obviously one of the most important characteristics of a good teacher to have in his box of qualities. He should be a gentle, kind, chivalrous and a benevolent person. Students should love him, and when they do love him, they idolize him. Then ultimately, they will respect him, will do his homework and eventually will bring greater outputs and results.