What Makes a Teacher Unforgettable?
What Makes a Teacher Unforgettable?
We have just completed this September’s 5-Day Intensive training course in Florence with some amazing teachers from around the globe, all with different backgrounds and teaching experiences. It was great fun!🤩
I’m always super excited about meeting new groups and I usually start the first day of each teacher training course with a simple question:
– What qualities do you think make a good teacher?
Participants usually shout out things like- patience, passion, being a good listener, friendly, approachable, motivating, caring, fun, belief in their students… etc
My second question follows with:
– Did you yourself ever have a teacher at school who had these same qualities? A teacher who has had an incredibly positive impact in your life. An unforgettable teacher.
I’m always surprised (or rather shocked) when very few people ever raise their hands (sometimes none).
It’s strange how we all instinctively know what qualities a good teacher should have but very few of us have ever actually had one ourselves.
So how can we be different for our young learners?
For me, a good teacher is synonym to being an excellent communicator.
Sometimes we give great importance to becoming a theory expert (whether it be English, Maths, History etc…) but we give less importance to understanding HOW to deliver that knowledge in an engaging way that gets children excited about learning.
By learning how to communicate better and becoming more aware how our students communicate we can adopt different teaching strategies in any given situation.
So, for example if we see children falling off their chairs with boredom, we’ll know how to change our behaviour, energy, tone of voice, eye contact or facial expression to help instantly re-connect with them.
Successful communication skills don’t come naturally to most – they need to be learned, developed and practiced, practiced, practiced but the benefits are immeasurable.
What we teach and how we teach it can make a difference in young lives….forever!
Be theatrical! Be unforgettable!!
Miranda
đź“• Free E-Book Teach Children English Through Drama 4 Steps to Getting Started ==> https://www.kidsenglishtheatre.com/free-ebook/
