What Makes A Great Teacher

"What makes a great teacher" is a fairly subjective notion. Most people say that a teacher with a lot of empathy is a great teacher and some might say that a no-nonsense teacher also falls under that category. Truthfully, there's no hard and fast rule as to what makes a great teacher. It actually depends on how the receiver of the teaching of the 'great teacher' perceives and responds to his or her teacher.

I, for one, like everybody else, have accumulated good and bad memories of all of my teachers throughout my schooling years. And out of those assorted teachers, in my eyes, one stood out as a great teacher. Ironically, this teacher was the one who always gave me the hard times whenever I forgot my multiplication tables. You may ask, how can that be called a great teacher. I have found that her method was very effective in making me memorized the tables which I have despised to learn until she came into the picture.

Thus, I am very much convinced that a teacher is considered great if he or she can produce a good or better yet, a great student. If the teacher could turn a slow-learner into an average-learner or fast-learner, the teacher is a great teacher. It’s that simple.

Most people would have propounded that a great teacher must have all the right ingredients such as wide knowledge in his or her subject, good-humored, strict yet emphatic, and have good knowledge in pedagogy and psychology. However, do all these right ‘ingredients’ can guarantee the right product i.e. good or great student? That’s an issue for one to ponder.

Personally, I would answer the issue in the negative. Being a teacher equipped with all the knowledge and skills in the world could not make him or her a great teacher. A great teacher is the one who could impart his or her knowledge to a student and in turn, transform the student into a great student. A great teacher is the one who brings out and enhances the hidden potential of his or her student.

As a teacher myself, I would always bear in mind that being a great teacher is not always striving to be the most popular and the most likable teacher in the school. It is whether my students understand and could apply the lessons that I have taught. I also would never forget to instill good moral values in my everyday classes so that I could ensure that at least I have done my part to uphold the moral fibers in the society.