What Makes A Good Teacher?

 This article is a tentative preview of a book I'm beginning to work on. I am attempting to criticize the American education system and devise solutions for its shortcomings that are actionable at a pedagogical and institutional level.

Teachers are the primary audience of this book and most of my advice is meant for them, which begs the question: what makes a good teacher?  There are so many qualities that people agree to make a good teacher, but no formula to simplify such a complex job–there likely never will be. Nonetheless, attempting to answer this question reveals many invaluable insights. 

Why A Good Teacher Matters

Before attempting to answer the question, we need to understand why a good teacher matters in the first place. Financially, one teacher has the potential to completely shift a student’s academic trajectory, preparing them for a lifetime of financial success. One Stanford article predicts a teacher’s financial impact by modeling the distribution of teachers’ skills on a standard deviation. When combined with income distributions in the labor market, this model calculates the increase in a student’s lifetime income attributed to a teacher. 

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Although the calculations are derived from teacher-attributed test score increases, which aren’t always an accurate predictor of future income, even the conservatively calculated impact of a teacher in the 60th percentile–a $106,000 aggregate earnings increase–is remarkable. 

The article also includes an approach to appraising the economic impact of a teacher.

The quality of the future labor force can be measured by student achievement. If a few percent of the lowest-performing teachers could be replaced by average-performing teachers, that quality increase alone could bring US education to the level of Canada and Finland. Think about that. Teachers are so economically significant that a nationwide increase in teaching quality elevates the US education system to be better than Finland’s number one education system, bolstering not just the US economy, but the world economy. 

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Furthermore, teachers influence children’s emotional development. In younger children, teachers can provide guidance “on how to vocalize and fathom…actions and emotions,” and teaching these “social-emotional competencies” has been scientifically shown to “lead to higher academic performance and better outcomes outside of school.” In older children, teachers can help students mature and make wiser decisions about their future. In all ages of children, teachers serve as mentor figures to impart not only course content but valuable life lessons that stay with them. A good teacher can completely transform a student’s life. 

What is a Teacher’s Responsibility?

Teachers are beneficial on an economic and emotional level, but what even is a teacher’s job? We all know teachers, well, teach, but what is the extent of their responsibility? At the time of writing, Googling “what is a teacher’s job” returns over 64 million results. One result reads that teachers “lead classrooms at public and private schools to guide their students and help them understand academic information. They write curriculum, create worksheets, give lectures and guide students through interactive lessons, using different teaching styles to reinforce essential information.” Seems accurate. Another result says that “the function of teachers is to help students learn by imparting knowledge to them and by setting up a situation in which students can and will learn effectively.” My least favorite result is one that defines a teacher as “a professional who teaches students based on national curriculum guidelines within their specialist subject areas.” It’s not exactly wrong, but it restricts the teacher’s responsibility to their job requirements and we can all agree that teachers who limit themselves to those requirements are boring and ineffective. My favorite result comes from a guide to teaching as a career, which says that teachers  “create engaging lesson plans, educate students, and develop and nurture their interests in education.” 

This is where a teacher’s responsibility extends beyond the generic job description. In addition to teaching students the curriculum, teachers should make that curriculum enjoyable. In upholding the joy of learning, teachers encourage children to be lifelong learners who make the world a better place. To enforce this joy of learning, teachers are responsible for being good people and guiding their students’ personal growth. As people entrusted with the development of the next generation, teachers have 

perhaps one of the greatest responsibilities in the entire world. 

Characteristics of a Good Teacher

Teaching is a complex job that can’t be completely outlined with a bulleted list. Even if it could be, merely listing characteristics would be trivial, as teaching is a skill that requires practice. However, there are still characteristics a teacher needs to know:

• Has good social skills: Good teachers know how to connect with their students to improve their learning experience. They know how to manage students and show leadership. 

• Encourages improvement from failure: Good teachers understand that students learn better without the stress of failure and respect each student’s unique learning speed. They make students learn from their mistakes.

• Makes learning fun: Good teachers make students learn better through enjoyment. 

• Effectively facilitates the learning process: Good teachers ensure students learn well. They are deliberate in course design and understand the learning process. 

• Dedicated and passionate: Good teachers care about their work because it makes students care. They are willing to constantly improve themselves for their students’ sake. 

• Helps students grow emotionally: Good teachers facilitate students’ emotional growth to prepare them for the future. 

Pedagogical Difficulties of Being a Teacher

• Student Behavior: Students behave in unique, sometimes difficult ways. Students may struggle or refuse to pay attention, feel discouraged, disregard instructions, disrupt the classroom, or fail class requirements. It can be challenging to resolve these behavioral conflicts, especially when there is no one size fits all solution. 

• Flux: Along with students’ behavior, course material is always changing, demanding teachers to adapt to these changes. Furthermore, chances in society, such as technological innovation, can drastically alter the educational climate. 

• The Nature of Learning: Learning is an intricate cognitive process that even modern research can’t completely comprehend. Teachers not only have to premise educational frameworks on how well they understand the learning process but must also shape it to their needs. It requires immense creativity, critical thinking, and a willingness to stray from traditional thinking (i.e. it’s pretty hard).

The Bottom Line

Teaching is a complicated job that requires proficiency across many skills. Teachers are the cornerstone of the education system. Regardless, there is no single answer to the question of what makes a good teacher, but maybe that’s the point. Teachers can form their image of what constitutes a good teacher and constantly strive to be that ideal.