Efficacy

Effective teachers are hard to come by. In my education career, I have gotten pretty lucky with mainly effective teachers. I have also had a fair share of some not so effective teachers.

Mrs. Mueller was a very effective teacher. She was my Speech teacher in high school. She handed out a syllabus (something rarely given out in high school) the first day, and told us what she expected from us. It was clear from the beginning the tasks that we were expected to complete and it was our job to get it done. She did a great job of reminding students to finish projects, but we knew it was our responsibility. She was also effective because she maintained a relationship with each one of her students. She knew at least a little about each one of us in the class. She knew our interests and hobbies, and we knew hers. She told us what not to do and told us what to do to make the classroom an effective place to learn. I appreciated how devoted she was to us and how clear her guidelines were.

My junior year of high school, I took a English composition class. The teacher had been an aid in classrooms for 20 years, but never had a classroom of his own, the year I had him was his first year as a "real teacher." He was getting older and it seemed as though he didn't really want to teach us. Some of the students in the class began to realize how relaxed of a guy he was, so they abused their privileges. Students (including me sometimes!) would come late to class, because we knew that our teacher would never punish us. We would have weekly vocabulary tests, and everyone consistently failed because we would never review in class and there would be no expectations given. This teacher was very ineffective. He wasn't motivated and did not give his students clear expectations. He seemed as though he didn't want to maintain a relationship with us as his students and was unclear about what he expected.

The key to being an effective teacher is balancing expectations with a relationship with students. Mrs. Mueller is an example of a teacher who knew what she wanted from her students. Because she knew what she wanted, and communicated it to us, the year was quite successful.

Creativity and Inventiveness

Creativity and Inventiveness are two qualities that many of my teachers throughout school encouraged. Teachers often times want their students to think "outside of the box." We find the theme of creativity used more often in Art, Music, English and Social Sciences, but harder in Math and Science. It is a teacher's job, teaching a "creative class" or not, to promote inventiveness in each individual student. It's hard to reward creativity because each person's idea of something "creative" is different. I think the basis of creativitiy should deal with whether or not a student is proud of something that they have worked on.

My Paideia professor last year was a teacher who demanded creativity and inventiveness. At first, I struggled in the class. Having a "math brain," I HATED thinking critically about books. (I like X=a definite answer, not some “Well, it could be this, but it may be this too…”) Paideia and my professor taught me to appreciate all the ways of creatively looking at things more in detail. I realized that I could read books and know what they meant. I could even write a 5 page paper on that material. My professor helped me think critically about texts, which is so important. She demanded that we think creatively about material, so we were pushed to present our maximum potential. I hope that some day I can demand creativity from my students just as that professor did for me.

Monday Night Role Play

Instead of a typical lecture on Monday night, our class was divided into sections to role play a school in which a "No Child Left Behind" plan was going to take action. I think that role playing is a very legitimate way to learn. Instead of listening to a teacher blab, students can be engaged in the thinking process about big issues. No Child Left Behind is a big issue in schools right now. Because of this activity, we learned how the plan really looked in schools and we could decide for ourselves if we liked it or not. It was a good measure of accountability because each person in each group had to know what they were talking about. Not everyone talked, but if you hadn't done some research on the issues being dealt with, you wouldn't have been able to follow the discussion.

The advantages of having a lecture instead of role play are few, but there are a couple worth mentioning. In a lecture, students can get a first hand glance at what their teacher agrees with and disagrees with. During a lecture, it is easier to take notes, so for students who learn better that way, a role play situation is harder to pause and jot down a few notes. Disadvantages of have a lecture would be that students aren't as engaged in lecture as they are in role play. Role play creates an opportunity for students to share their thoughts, which shapes individuals and knowledge about subjects. However, if role play is used consistently in a classroom, it could turn into just debate and not learning.

I feel that students do need to have a solid grasp of basic skills before they can be asked to do complex learning tasks. I however, do not think that standardized tests are the best way to measure these kinds of skills. Often, students have a very hard time taking tests, and I was one of them. That being said I think I will give tests to my students. I think a simple test in math, with clear expectations given, is a very practical way to measure what students have learned, but standardized testing is too broad for students, especially at the elementary level.

Emotional engagement is absolutely crucial to the learning process. I feel that schools not only have the job to teach kids the core subjects, but how to become a better person as well. Some students do not learn social or emotional skills at home. Where else will they learn how to become a better person if it's not at school? Putting your heart and soul into what you do is important to ANYTHING you do in life.

I feel that more attention is given to parents with higher achieving students, because those are the parents who are involved in their children's lives. Often, the lowest achieving students have parents who didn't achieve themselves, so the parents are not interested in how their children are doing. How can we change this though? It is important to give attention to both parties. It is a teacher's job to communicate well with ALL of their student's parents. More attention needs to be given to the parents with lower achieving students.

No Child Left Behind was an excellent thought, but it doesn't seem to work for a majority of the schools in the US today. Standardized testing as an idea is a great thought, but it doesn't work when you put it into play. A teacher's most critical job overall is to teach their students how to be better individuals. Well-rounded, interested, thoughtful students, not ones who try to get the best score on tests.

Passion

When I think of the word passion, only one teacher comes to mind...Mr. Marrone.

Mr. Marrone was a loud, emphatic, strong-willed Italian. When I was a sophomore in high school, he was my Writing Composition instructor. Everyday in his class, we were to write a paragraph about something that was going on in our lives. We each had a special journal that we wrote in and we could tell him anything we wanted to. I remember him writing back to me telling me to give him more detail, more "meat and potatoes" about what was going on in my life and how I viewed the world. "I had a good day today" wasn't going to cut it anymore. He made me dig deep and listen to myself think about what I was dealing with. Mr. Marrone's enthusiasm for writing made me so much more interested in English and how to become a better writer; a writer who looked at the world and analyzed what they saw.

Not only was he passionate about writing, but he was passionate about his students. As we read stories to get ideas for our own, Mr. Marrone brought the stories and characters to life. Every day in class was a new day for him to show us something about English. He wanted us to "get it." He wanted us to understand what the big themes of literature were and most importantly he wanted us to analyze them and shape them into our own lives.

Because of Mr. Marrone's guidance in writing and English, I feel that I have become a better student. I know that because of his passion for teaching, I learned how to love writing and English. It has never been one of my favorite or best subjects, but because of Mr. Marrone's passion, I grew to love writing.

Authenticity

My dad always says, the best teachers are the ones that just act themselves. My dad has been a high school choir director for over 20 years. After years of trying to understand what high school kids want in a teacher, my dad decided the best option for him was to act like himself. When something is authentic, it is simply itself.

When a teacher promotes authenticity in the classroom the students will take everything the teacher says more seriously. Students are able to tell quite easily whether a teacher is authentic or not. When a teacher is authentic, they are genuine with their students. An example of a genuine teacher is one who admits they make mistakes. If a student asks a question they aren't sure about, they have no problem saying they don't know the answer. Being trustworthy is another characteristic of an authentic teacher. If a student is able to trust a teacher, then more can be done in the classroom.

When a teacher is not authentic, the students will not take the teacher seriously. They will not trust the teacher's instruction or knowledge. Authenticity is an important part of being a good educator. Authentic teachers show students they care and further their relationships with students.

Compassion

One of the most important qualities in a good teacher is compassion. Webster's dictionary defines compassion as "a feeling of deep sympathy for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." When I think back to my years of school, one teacher in particular stands out.

It was the first day of middle school. My mom taught at the elementary school I went to, so I had never gone to school "alone" before. Needless to say, I was freaked out. Everyday for the first week, my mom would practically push me out of the car. I had heard something from a friend about the Student Council program at school. I went to the first meeting and right away I knew that Mrs. Williams could help me. After I was accepted into the program, she told me that I could come to her room every morning and help her with Student Council projects. She knew that I needed extra love, so she gave it to me. Mrs. Williams taught me a lot throught out my years at the middle school. She taught me how to be okay on my own, without Mom or Dad to come and rescue me. She told me that it was okay to be a little scared of new beginnings. Her compassion was unending. If I ever needed a hug, a listening ear or even just a smile, Mrs. Williams had it.

Eventually, my mom didn't have to push me out of the car each morning. I knew that the big middle school wasn't as scary as I had feared it would be. I feel that I grew up quite a bit that year because of Mrs. Williams. I hope that some day I will be a compassionate teacher just as Mrs. Williams was to me.

Respect

Just like most things in life, respect is two sided. Both parties involved in the relationship each need to give and take. The key ingredients in respect are listening, good communication, honesty and trust. This can be seen in the classroom in many ways; when a teacher listens to what a student has to say, respect is built from the student to the teacher. The same thing happens when a teacher gives a direction and a student follows their guidance. Respect can also be developed by being interested and asking good questions of students. When a student knows their teacher is interested, respect grows. Honesty and trust form respect also. When a student gives an honest answer or tells their teacher the truth, the teacher gains respect from that student and an attitude of trust forms. The impact of respect shows up quite quickly in classrooms. If a teacher has lost respect for their students, or if the students have lost respect for the teacher, it can be hard to further learning and quality instruction. When respect is achieved, it is easier to continue learning and to build stronger relationships in classrooms. I think the best way for respect to be established in a classroom is to make sure that teachers are being themselves. Students respond better to people who are acting how they would with anyone else rather than someone who is trying to be something they’re not. Respect should be a common goal of any classroom. Respect is such an important part of the learning environment for students and educators.