Edna Spruill
A good teacher is more than just someone who stands in front of the classroom and gives lectures and lessons. Great teachers have a long lasting impact on students, shaping how they learn and how they think and grow as individuals.
When two days are the same or are exactly like in the classroom, Good teachers need to be flexible and ready to adapt their teaching methods. Adaptability helps teachers meet the needs of everyone in the classroom. Creativity also plays a big role, as fun activities and projects can make both learning fun and memorable.
“I personally prefer doing Blookets and flashcards as a way of learning, it’s way more easier to learn and I get way better grades on quizzes and tests when I do Blookets and flashcards.” West Junior, Axel Garcia said. “It helps me understand more because I’m more of a visual and hands-on learner. I think teachers that don’t use Blookets should start using them and I think teachers that do use Blookets should continue because it increases student engagement.
Another important characteristic a teacher can have is passion. When teachers are genuinely excited about their subject and ecstatic to present it to their students, it will eventually become contagious and the student will get that ecstatic feeling as well. Students can sense this enthusiasm coming from the teacher which will spark their own interest in learning whatever’s being taught.
“When a teacher has a positive attitude, you can tell that they really like teaching, it’s really nice because it makes me wanna be in the class more, it makes me wanna engage more, it makes me wanna talk to other people and it makes me it feel better about the class, it makes me wanna turn all my work in and it’s just really nice to have a teacher like that because there’s somebody you know you can talk to.” West Senior Kialani Crocker said.
A teacher with empathy and good understanding is also crucial. Every student is unique and they have different backgrounds, abilities and needs. If a student communicates with a teacher some of these things, good teachers take the time to understand those needs so they can adapt to how they learn, they listen carefully, offer support and create a safe environment to where every student feels valued.
“I had Mr. Winstral my freshman year and I did three sports then and I am not that good in math and he is very understanding of that.” West Senior, Janiya Fleming said.“Having him as a senior now, he understands that I still am doing three sports so, he lets me retake tests and he explains things in depth, even if he’s already explained it multiple times, it allows me to not only be able to play my sport, but to keep my grades up and it’s nice to have that understanding teacher.”