My Teacher List

While I certainly do not have the insight of the millions of veteran teachers that have been in this profession for 10, 20 and 30 + years, I have discovered several things over the past two months student teaching.

A teacher must have:

·         

•     Tough skin
•          A sense of humor
•          An ability to laugh at oneself
•          An ability to say “I don’t know”
•          A willingness to help
•          A willingness to learn
•          A love of learning
•          A variety of “quick to eat” snacks
•          An ability to go many hours without using the restroom (this one is very hard for me)
•          A love of “teacher supplies”
•          An ability to bite one’s tongue
•          An appreciation of diversity and student’s prior knowledge
•          An acknowledgement that as a teacher, you often have no idea what each student is dealing with at home and in their personal lives
•          An ability to hide bad moods
•          Open-mindedness
•          Willingness to try new things
•          A positive outlook and ability to have fun
•          A 25 hour day
•          Unlimited copying privileges
•          Willingness to take criticism
•          Knowledge that you can’t please everyone
•          Knowledge that you may not always be loved
•     Knowledge that not always being loved is not necessarily a bad thing
•         An ability to explain why you are doing something
•     An ability to explain why you are making your students do something
•         Being an amazing actress (or actor)
•          A love of the subject you teach
•          A love of teenagers, and the wacky questions they will undoubtedly come up with
•          A genuine interest in the lives of students -- their non-academic interests and activities
•          Organization, organization, organization!
•          Planning, planning, planning!
•          Ability to be flexible and change plans at a moment’s notice
•          Ability to work in solitude… even when surrounded by students all day
•          Ability to handle a lot of paperwork
•          Creativity
•     An ability to say “No”
•          Negotiation Skills
•          Problem-solving skills
•       Ability to communicate with indifferent, irate and/or uncompromising parents
•          Knowledge of Justin Bieber, American Idol, Glee, Facebook and any other current trend of the moment
•          Unlimited energy… coffee helps – except for the need for bathroom breaks that it creates
•          Willingness to learn from students, they often have a great deal of knowledge to share
•          Ability to find the good qualities in each and every student that walks through the classroom door

I am certain that this list will expand as I gain more experience in the classroom, but I would say I have learned quite a bit in the past two months.  

More next week!