What is a really, really good teacher?
Dr. John R. Eggers
March 29, 2009
What is a really, really great teacher?
All of you know what a really, really great teacher is because all of you have had one or two or three in your life. Every once in a while I ask my students this question just to see how far off the track I am. Their answers always remind me what I am supposed to be about.
When you think about it, we are all teachers, aren’t we? Just because we may not have a college degree in professional education, we play teacher to our children, our employees, and our friends.
Did you ever give someone your favorite recipe? Did you ever give directions to a stranger? Did you ever give a lecture to your kids? In all of these examples, to some extent we play the role of a teacher. What do really, really good teachers do?
When I ask my students this question, I always think I am going to get some profound answer that would be “the” answer that teachers since the time of Christ have been looking for. No such luck. Invariably I get simple, common sense replies.
For example, many of my students said, “A really, really good teacher is someone who helps you through school.”
See what I mean? There is nothing profound in that answer but when you stop and think about the significance of it, it starts to grow on you.
What if a teacher said, “Today I am going to help you become a better speller.” “Today I am going to help you understand the importance of energy conservation.” “Today I am going help you know the meaning of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.”
Did you ever get the feeling that some of your teachers were trying too hard to teach when all along they should have been trying to help you? When you help someone that puts you on the same level as the one you are trying to help. It’s as if you are doing something together.
One definition of help is to be of “service” to someone. “Service” comes from the word “serve.” When you have to serve someone, teaching takes on a whole different meaning, doesn’t it? Rather than ask yourself, “What will I teach my students today?” ask yourself, “How will I serve my students today?”
My students said, “A really, really good teacher is one who is your mentor.” This is more defined in this anonymous quote, “A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.”
That’s pretty much what a mentor does. A good mentor is someone who shows you the paths that can be taken, talks about the pros and cons but leaves you to make the decision that you feel is best for you.
All of us have chosen the wrong path at one time or another and we return to our mentor for advice. The mentor doesn’t criticize us or blame us or tell us we are stupid for taking the wrong path but points out that we always have the opportunity to change directions. Good mentors never give up on helping their mentees.
One student told me that “a really, really good teacher is one that wears funky shoes.” One thing is for sure, good teachers are unique individuals and there is something about their style, about their demeanor, about their habit that make them appear special to their students. Obviously it is more than funky shoes but I know lots of students who like a teacher just because they thing he or she is kind of “cool.” Now, if that “cool” teacher can be a mentor and a helper, then we have something.
“A really, really good teacher is someone who ‘gets' us.” Now that’s a profound answer. I have been teaching for over 40 years and I am still trying to “get” my students. Students know when we “get” them. They appreciate it even if we just try to “get” them. “Getting” students is really trying to know who they are. What makes them tick? Students want to feel that their teachers are trying to understand them.
Being a really, really good teacher is not easy. It helps, however, if every once in a while we ask those individuals we are trying to “get,” “What is a really, really good teacher?”
Who Is John?