by Author Name Withheld 228

Created on: August 25, 2009   Last Updated: September 12, 2009

One of the best teachers to have, is that stern teacher with a passion for their subject. These teachers challenge themselves everyday by delving deeper ino their studies, keeping up with current events, and actively engage students in activities. They are often misunderstood as well.

The first characteristic of a good teacher is one who knows they don't know everything. So they continue to study, continue to peruse books, websites, etc.. Their students may find them sipping coffee inside a bookstore or going to speaking engagements as well. Often, teachers go to millions of meetings, but the teacher that challenges himself/herself, will go the extra mile to challenge their students as well.

As a student in my former years, I remember one teacher who regularly challenged us in the subject of English. We read stories but she wanted us to "dig deeper" than what was required. We could tell she knew her subject thoroughly. Even in the eighth grade she enabled us to write like college grads and many students did not like her. I felt challenged and was upset we had to do so much reading and writing, but as I got older I realized that everything isn't always as it seems and when reading literature, it should be analyzed for what it is, and what it may not be.

Secondly, a teacher keeps abreast of what is going on around them. A good teacher not only teaches their subject but brings in something current for the students to relate to. These teachers have a new topic every day. For instance, while in Physics class, the teacher mentioned about a mishap that happened in NASA, a few digits were off on a system and caused an explosion. This got our attention because we have all heard what happened and wanted to discuss it. We had to think creatively and actively to engage in such an intelligent and interesting discussion.

Finally, a teacher always asks a student to go above and beyond what is required. There are some students who just don't want to do the work. The movie, Dangerous Minds, is the perfect illustration of what can happen when children aren't challenged. When the teacher, played by Michelle Pfeiffer enters the classroom, she was nervous and was about to give up and that's probably what most teachers have done and so the students acted accordingly.

As a teacher, you are called not only to lecture but to question, guide, and inspire a person to learn more. The teacher in Dangerous Minds was an ex Marines and she used what she knew to actively engage the kids and finally she wanted to challenge their minds, because boring is no fun. Writing assignments and lecturing doesn't prosper a student all of the time. To show you care about students, as a teacher you should challenge them because the world is a challenge in itself.

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