"A Good Teacher..."
is hard to find and even harder to define. Good can be defined in many ways...
adjective
1. morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious: a good man.
2.satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree: a good teacher; good health.
3. of high quality; excellent.
noun
42. profit or advantage; worth; benefit: What good will that do?We shall work for the common good.
43. excellence or merit; kindness: to do good.
44. moral righteousness; virtue
Synonyms
1. pure, moral, conscientious, meritorious, worthy, exemplary, upright. 2. commendable, admirable. 5. obedient, heedful. 6. kindly, benevolent, humane, gracious, obliging. 23. full, adequate. 24. profitable, useful, serviceable, beneficial. 25. efficient, proficient, capable, able, ready, suited, suitable, dexterous, expert, adroit, apt.
(Dictionary.com)
This list of definitions even uses teacher as an example for a definition, an unsatisfactory one of “satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree”. This definition of good is not appropriate for teachers because a satisfactory teacher makes no lasting impression on their students or their school. A good teacher knows their students, excels in their knowledge of their content area, masters of their profession and is a moral and ethical compass for their students. A good teacher should be: moral, worthy, exemplary, upright, admirable kindly, full, beneficial, efficient, capable, able, ready and expert.
If a teacher or pre-service teacher wants to be the most effective educator possible then they need to be familiar with the multitude of educational and learning theories because it helps them to understand the individual needs and strengths of their students and work towards enhancing those strengths through different applications of various learning theories. Effective teachers come in many packages, and each possesses a common ideal, that they should do anything possible to reach and effectively teach their students.
For a good teacher it is vital to strive with their full potential to encourage, support and guide their students to realize their individual potential to become effective, successful, lifelong learners. Effective teachers realize that intrinsic motivation through autonomy, mastery and purpose is the key to fostering students that can become distinct, intellectually advanced, moral agents within their unique social and cultural position.
JP,
ReplyDeleteI admire how you approached this exercise. I've done some research on the construct of a 'good teacher' myself. The earliest reported use of the term in academic literature is from the late 1800s. Since that time, it has been a much debated and discussed term/ideal. And by my regard one worth the effort as an individual teacher and as a teacher-researcher (myself).
Curious as to why in your final statement you switched up good for effective. Any idea?
GNA
I hadn't thought of it, and it was entirely unconscious, but looking back on it, I think it has to do with the difference between striving to be a good teacher and actually being an effective teacher. Most educators strive to be "good" and many are, but they may not be effective. I see an effective teacher as one who may not be the most popular, but one who inspires students to learn for the sake of learning and who has more of a lasting impact on their students.
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