A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
These words of Henry B. Adams describes a teacher perfectly.
Teaching offers the chance to change other people's lives permanently for the better.
As a teacher, you can help to develop somebody's subject knowledge and maybe even their mind and personality. Teaching is an incredibly rewarding thing to do and good teachers are needed everywhere: in schools and college classrooms to educate the young, as well as in the workplace and other settings to teach adults and colleagues.
Although there are many skills, both job-related and personal, that are essential to being an effective teacher I believe communication is the most important. Communication skills are a must for dealing successfully with students, parents, other teachers, and administrative staff. It is important to clearly communicate with your students your classroom expectations, assignments, and any other directions that you may give them. Communication with parents is very important not only to keep them updated on their child’s progress but also as a means for you to understand and be aware of any problems the student may be facing during certain times. Communication is also the key to being able to discuss problems or concerns you are having with your child in your classroom. Although I feel that communication is the most important creativity and planning skills are also important skills for making your classroom a success. Keeping your students interested and wanting to learn is a great way for everyone to achieve their end goal. If you do not keep your students interested and they feel that class is boring your students may lose interest and not receive the full benefit of what they should be learning.
Personally, I have developed many helpful skills through helping our friends raise their handicapped child, being around and babysitting my sisters' daughter, and also from working in the classroom with various teachers. Whether it’s watching someone’s children for the summer or working in a structured environment you learn to develop communication, creativity, and planning skills. I think helping with our friend's handicapped child has helped me the most with my communication skills because I would have to tell them at the end of each day what we worked on, how her progress was coming, and what I thought would be best for her next activities. I also learned a great deal about creativity and planning because they basically left her daily learning and activities to me but I had to let them know ahead of time what we were going to be working on.
There is a huge difference between becoming a teacher and becoming a good teacher. Good teachers have a huge impact on learners and help them engage in lifelong learning. Good teachers can make a world of difference in a child from any age. Think about your schooling, do you remember a particular teacher who believed in you, inspired you, helped you, and made you confident that you could succeed? These good teachers are vitally important. Conversely, you probably remember a teacher who didn’t seem to care about the students, didn’t make an effort to help you learn, or told you weren’t good enough. These are not the kind of teachers that children and youth need today.
Experienced teachers and principals learn how to identify the best candidates for teaching positions quickly; that makes it essential to embody the qualities of a great teacher not just in the classroom, but throughout job applications and interviews.
