<p>A question to all those who's been enjoying every minute with a good one and loathing every second with a bad one. We always praise the good ones and bash the bad ones but sometimes we can't put a finger on why.</p>
<p>From personal experience, credentials don't say a thing about the teaching quality. I had one math teacher who went to Harvard for undergrad and Columbia for his masters, and he was one of the worst teachers I've ever experienced in my school. He talks way too quickly and doesn't allow us to process the information. He also doesn't answer any homework assignment problems on which we have questions. The Calculus AB teacher is praised many places in the country, but I heard nothing but bad things from her. She counts off points if you solve a problem different from the way she taught it, and if it's not in the exact same format she taught.</p>
<p>Then I had another math teacher who went to some college in New Mexico that no one remembers and he is THE BEST. Seriously. He makes college algebra look incredibly easy. He dumbs down everything so we can easily understand and goes nice and slowly. His explanations make perfect sense and he communicates his ideas very, very clearly. He encourages creativity in solving his test problems, and as long as he can follow it (which he will), he counts it right.</p>
<p>For me, a good teacher can communicate his/her ideas very clearly and in a way in which people can understand and process the information easily, make problems which truly challenge your thinking, is open to helping everyone in anything, and can keep the class interesting.</p>
<p>There are certain teachers that have this knack for it. They just teach, and right off the bat, everyone gets it. The way they explain things, and communicate with students just comes naturally to them.</p>
<p>Also, it helps when a teacher is nice and approachable. If a students doesn’t understand something, and it’s hard to approach the teacher because they are a “female dog”, then it makes it harder.</p>
<p>My AP chem teacher is the goddess of education! xD I totally love, no adore, her. She knows how to teacher, respects us all, never raises her voice, and can control the class without any effort just because she always smiles and feels like a mom. Oh and she can sit with you for a whole hour helping you understand one lousy problem :D.</p>
Has a hearing problem and doesn’t do anything about it. I had one ancient teacher who would say “What?!” several times after anyone asked anything, and then when he finally got something he didn’t hear the whole thing, so he wouldn’t answer the whole question.<br>
Doesn’t answer questions, or only partially answers them.
Spends the whole class telling stories about their own past and then gives a test.
Says they hate their subject and/or didn’t really want to be a teacher.
Makes things unnecessarily confusing because they can.
<p>I think that a good teacher can present his/her ideas in a way that students can grasp. He/she can explain topics clearly and concisely. He/she truly cares about his/her students and wants to help them succeed. I wish more good teachers existed!</p>
<p>In my opinion, a good teacher is one who is approachable and knowledgeable (nothing worse than a teacher who doesn’t know what he/she is talking about). A good teacher is one who makes me actually want to learn (e.g. instead of being talked at by the teacher for an hour straight, I actually get to participate in the class), and encourages my learning. I love it when teachers take time out of their free time to help us (e.g. afterschool help sessions). I even had one teacher who stayed until afterschool until 8 to supervise some experiments.</p>
<p>I normally don’t have a problem with other teachers even if other kids do, but my Algebra teacher…oh boy…she’d just sit at her desk, never got up to actually teach, and would tell us stuff…then she’d yell at everyone to be quiet. She wouldn’t even “teach”, she’d just show us examples, she’d never actually say how to do something. </p>
<p>Good teachers I have always treat kids with respect, they don’t treat them like they are some little kid. They give kids individual attention, and don’t act like you’re just a number in their class. They’re nice but firm, and can make you laugh while teaching you something and at the same time get you to understand it. They are someone you feel like you can always talk to, someone “whose door is always open” (e.g., tutoring, if you have a problem, etc.), and someone who never yells excessively.</p>
<p>I think a good teacher is a person who:
1] Teaches clearly in an understandable way and doesn’t waste time.
2] is willing to answer questions and gives lots of his/her time to help us out.
3] is kind and wants to get to know each of his/her students very well
4] treats students with respect
5] is open with students and approachable</p>
<p>Organisation is very important. There are some classes that we are having to study some of the course ourselves before the exam because the teachers got behind schedule.
Varies their method of teaching to keep it interesting. Films and documentaries, when they’re accurate, are actually a good way to remember something because it’s appeals to us more. We watched 13 Days as the majority of our study of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and I think I have the whole thing memorised!</p>
<p>A good teacher presents examples that help students understand the material and relate. He or she does not give away answers, letting the students think for themselves. I like teachers that are organized and don’t just give busy work.</p>
<p>One of my teachers is a PhD with degrees from Harvard and MIT. He is a terrible teacher. He knows his stuff but doesn’t help the rest of us understand it. There are many qualities a good teacher should have but the most important is being able to make the teaching material comprehensible to students.</p>
<p>A good teacher must know what students typically do not understand and can anticipate and answer the questions students have!
Fairness separates a true teacher from a person who merely teaches! There is so much cronyism that occurs particularly in AP classes that its infuriating !<br>
Grading policies must be fair for all and exams must test what was explained in classroom and on homework ! It’s completely unfair for a teacher to constantly give exams that are significantly more difficult than the homework and class work especially in advanced math. What does that prove? You become a good student ( I’m referring primarily to math/science) by practicing problems and mastering concepts! Giving more challenging problems for the first time on a test is totally unacceptable ( unless a bonus question ) and can cause students to now spend inappropriate time and effort swearing these types of advanced questions. It becomes a vicious cycle and students will then be thinking about these difficult problems while they are working on the problems they have familiarity causing them to become anxious on these problems and get them wrong as well! A good teacher will not subscribe to such testing methods!</p>
<p>A good teacher is someone who is extremely knowledgeable on their subject matter (outside of just what’s in the text book), and can communicate that knowledge effectively to their students. A good teacher also understands their students’ strengths and weaknesses, and adjusts their lessons accordingly. One of the biggest things though is genuinely caring about how their students are doing, and being open and welcoming when offering extra help outside of class, and effectively communicating what is expected of students.</p>
<p>Personal preferences of mine though:
-teachers who have class debates
-teachers who lecture a lot (not just out of the book though!)
-teachers who make almost your entire grade based on tests
-teachers who are friendly and not super serious all the time</p>
<p>I have one teacher that goes above and beyond with everything she does, and is probably the most passionate person I know, and the best teacher I’ve ever had. This=amazing teacher. Making it clear you’re only doing the minimum because you want that $$$=bad teacher.</p>