by Sidra Jawad

Created on: March 03, 2011   Last Updated: January 15, 2012

After five years of teaching experience I have come to know that teaching is one of  the most challenging and difficult jobs a person can do. There are so many dimensions to it, which makes it all the more complex. A teacher also has to play a number of roles in order to be successful i.e. a friend, a mentor, a role model, a teacher, a parent etc. Hence defining a teacher is an uphill task.

1. Good Educator:

A teacher needs to be a good educator. She needs to have a good command on the subject matter that she is teaching. This is of vital importance because the most important job of a teacher is... to teach. However, only having great knowledge about her subject is not enough. She needs to impart it as well.

2. Good Organizer:

A teacher also has to be a good organizer. She would not be able to accomplish anything if she is not organized. Teachers are always pressed for time so a teacher needs to develop her organizational skills in order to make effective use of her time.

3. Creative:

Looking back at the large number of teachers who have taught me, the most memorable ones are the ones who were the most creative. Teachers need to make their lessons as creative as possible; otherwise they will lose the interest of their pupils. They need to make use of new teaching methodologies and strategies.

4. Passionate about her Profession:

Passion is another important quality for a teacher to have. She needs to be passionate about her work. The passion needs to be reflected in everything that she does. A teacher with no passion would never have the power to inspire her students to reach for the stars. Only a passionate teacher would be up at midnight thinking up activities that would make her lessons more interesting for the students.

5. Lots of Patience:

A teacher needs to have a lot of patience. Students are ready to test the limits of their teachers on any given day. The key to being a good teacher is to remain calm and patient all of the time (okay, I'll be realistic and change it to most of the time).

6. Role Model:

Children are never good at listening to the advice of their adults. But they are great at imitating them. So a teacher needs to be a role model for her students instead of a preacher.

7. Good Learner:

A good teacher is the one who is also a good learner. A teacher who believes that there is a lot in this world that she knows little about would always be in search of learning new things.

The above mentioned things are the key ingredients of making a good teacher and help us define what a teacher is.

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