How Do I Become A High Quality Teacher

     Chapter 7 of Fulfilling the Promise is titled The Simple Hard Truth about Teaching.  The chapter gets into why it is hard to be a quality teacher with all of the demands placed on you, but that information can wait.  The chapter also describes what is high-quality teaching and I feel much more inclined to cover that at this time.  This entire book does a wonderful job of pointing out how we can become great teachers and much to my appreciation it gives examples of quality teaching.  Chapter 7 is no different.  If you can only read one chapter of this book I would recommend that it be chapter 7.  Chapter 7 defines what it takes to be a great teacher and gives research-proven methods to becoming that teacher.

     First of all lets define what high-quality teaching is.  It may be a little different for everyone, but the base principal that high-quality education is the exact same as responsive teaching which is the same as differentiated teaching.  For teachers who are in love with their job it can only be for one reason. Obviously that reason is not money nor is it power.  It is very simply that teaching gives us a chance to have long lasting positive effects on a child.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I am selfish.  I want to be that teacher that touches the lives of students and shows them the potential they have and provides a starting point for them to reach that potential.  

     The question becomes how do I become that effective and influential teacher?  As I mentioned before, read this book, but if not read chapter 7.  Chapter 7 lists research-based characteristics of quality teaching, from a book by James Stronge.  There are two complete pages of the characteristics listed in chapter 7.  I will not cover them all, but I will discuss some of my favorites.  

•  Student want teachers who respect them, listen to them, show empathy, and help them work out their problems.  Students want teachers who show their human side by sharing parts of their lives with them.  What is written above to me can be broken down into the simplest terms.  Students want teachers who care about them.
• Teachers who care develop positive relationships with students.  Students can tell when a teacher cares about them.  When a teacher cares about them students develop a trust in the teacher. Students will know that everything that a teacher does is in their best interest.  Once a student has developed that trust we have a positive relationship.  
• The best teachers who are looking to form bonds with students find out about the students culture and background.  It is not enough to know a student is white, black, poor, or wealthy.  A good teacher must not make stereotypical decisions, but must go find out what each student believes or has been taught.  
• If I want to be a great teacher I must have a deep belief and faith in my own efficacy.  A quick definition of efficacy is that of believing that you can accomplish whatever you set out to do.  In the education world that means that I believe I can get any student to learn and improve themselves.  A question that arose for me on this topic was this.  Can a beginning teacher come in with this sense of efficacy or must it be earned by trial and error in the classroom.  I do not know for sure, but I do believe that while you are waiting for this belief to come that all student will learn from you, you must act like it until you do believe it.
• Teachers who make connections to the problems and issues that are in the students world will create a deeper understanding for the student.  Make the lessons focused on the ability or knowledge you want the student to obtain and apply it to something they already know about or want to know about.

     The last one I will cover is my favorite and will not go into the bullets above.  "Effective teachers take responsibility for student outcomes."  You may have all the knowledge in the world and provide the best instruction ever seen, but if the students do not learn, you have not succeeded.   It is not enough to put out the information, but we must ensure learning.  If students do not learn it is not their fault, rather it is ours and we must learn quickly from it and correct the problem.

     Okay, that is what high quality teaching is all about.  What makes it hard to do?  Next post I will cover why it is so hard to become a great teacher.