What makes a good teacher?

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I know I have been on hiatus from my blog for the past few months and I apologize for that. I always forget how starting the school year is so time consuming (no matter how many times you have done it in the past). Lately I have been thinking about what makes a good teacher. In Wisconsin I hear a lot teacher backlash and I found myself more and more sad about this take on teachers. I have heard things like "teaching USED to be a profession and now it is just lazy people who want to get paid more for doing less" or "teachers are sleeping through their classes and don't care about my child... tax dollars should not go toward education". I highly disagree with both of these statements, but I can see how easy it is to judge someone or something that you don't know that much about. I teach my 7th graders about stereotyping and how they can't judge a whole group on the actions of a certain few... I wish some adults could learn about this too.

Back to my question; what makes a good teacher?
I believe that I work with some very good teachers who strive to do the best in education. These people are forward thinkers and they care deeply about the students they teach. Here is what I believe these teachers have in common:
  • a drive for innovation
  • ability to change and adapt for the improvement of learning
  • a positive outlook on education
  • the belief that every student can learn
  • the mentality of being a "life long learner"
  • the openness to share and collaborate with their fellow educators

I wish the rest of the world got to see these qualities of educators more often. Then maybe they wouldn't believe that "all teachers are just out for a paycheck".

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