Being a good teacher is extremely important, and a good teacher is someone who a student will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives. But what really makes a good teacher? There are a lot of things to consider when answering this question. Below we will discuss the top 10 qualities of a good teacher that we believe are most important when it comes to quality teaching and really creating that strong student-teacher relationship.
1.
Effective communication is a critical asset to acquire in both professional and in intimate environments. It is the root of successful and memorable relationships. In the case of teaching, to have strong communication skills as a teacher is an important quality for building teacher-student rapport, and for really creating a trusting environment for the students. Strong communication skills are essential for the objective of teaching itselfs. As a teacher, having the ability to constructively express verbal, writing, visual and body language cues together with the capacity to convert  ideas into student understandable structures will deliver knowledge with superior results. Communication skills are on the top of the list of what makes a good teacher. A teacher must be able to communicate the classroom’s curriculum in an effective and organized manner, that the students will be able to understand. This way, the students will know exactly what is expected of them, including understanding due dates for specific homework tasks or assignments. A teacher should do his or her best to explain assignments, so that students can deliver successfully. If for some reason a student does not fully grasp or understand the expectations or directions of a particular task or assignment, it is important for the teacher to communicate them to the best of his or her abilities.
2.
Being a good teacher means having your students listen to you, but also making sure that you listen and give your students the attention that they need by answering all of their questions. The vale of listening lies behind allowing you to better understand your students. Aristotle once said that “those who know, do” and “Those you understand, teach.” The ability to understand your students is one of the keys to being a good teacher, and helps you to understand what works and what does not work in terms of teaching for specific students and your student group as a whole. Each student is different and expresses themselves in their own unique way. By asking active questions and carefully listening to what students have to say, teacher can further improve their communication between themselves and their students. Through strong listening skills, teachers are able to create a stronger, healthier and higher quality learning environment.
3.
Having a friendly attitude is one of the most important qualities of a good teacher. Expressing a friendly attitude towards your students makes you more approachable, and is more likely to motivate students to want to learn. By being perceived as more approachable, students will feel more comfortable to ask questions. This will in turn enhance student-teacher communication and create a more positive learning environment. The best teachers tend to be open, friendly, welcoming, and most importantly, secure to approach. Something important that comes with having a friendly attitude as a teacher is the trust that can potentially be created within the classroom. When a student views a teacher as friendly, the student is more likely to open up to the teacher and hence, he or she will be more likely to trust the teacher. A sense of trust will further enhance communication within the learning environment, and is definite to strengthen work and productivity. Students need to feel comfortable in their learning space to perform to the best of their abilities. By having a friendly attitude, you encourage this sense of comfort and trust that can really take your teaching to the very next level. Most importantly, having a friendly attitude can really contribute to making you a memorable teacher, and there is nothing more charming than being able to be that teacher.
4.
Patience is a virtue, and especially in the world of teaching. Being a teacher and handling multiple children at one time is not an easy task, and requires a great deal of patience. Different students will display different levels of aptitude when it comes to learning. It is crucial to take that into consideration, as this will help students to not stay behind and will further the success of the teaching environment. Remember, you are a role model, and showing a lack of patients will only reflect on the teacher in a negative way, showing the students the teacher’s own personal shortcomings. Another factor to note on patience, is that a patient teacher is likely to be more adaptable to different teaching environments. Different individual students and different age groups will express different difficulties when it comes to interacting, communicating, and teaching. By being patient, a teacher will be more willing to understand each of these individual students and overall age groups. Of course, good teaching comes with experience; however, having patience will allow the teacher to learn and better understand what specific tactics work and do not work when it comes to engaging students within the learning .