Top 6 Keys to Being a Successful Teacher

Top 6 Keys to Being a Successful Teacher

By
Melissa Kelly

The most successful teachers share some common characteristics. Here are
the top six keys to being a successful teacher. Every teacher can
benefit from focusing on these important qualities

First
Sense of Humor
A sense of humor can help you become a successful teacher. Your sense of
humor can relieve tense classroom situations before they become
disruptions

A sense of humor will also make class more enjoyable for your students
and possibly make students look forward to attending and paying
attention

Most importantly, a sense of humor will allow you to see the joy in life
and make you a happier person as you progress through this sometimes
stressful career

Second
Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is a great asset in life. You will be thrown many
curve balls in life and especially in the teaching profession

A positive attitude will help you cope with these in the best way

For example

You may find out the first day of school that you are teaching Algebra 2
instead of Algebra 1. This would not be an ideal situation, but a
teacher with the right attitude would try to focus on getting through
the first day without negatively impacting the students

Third

High Expectations

An effective teacher must have high expectations
You should strive to raise the bar
for your students

If you expect less effort you will receive less effort
You should work on an attitude that says
that you know students can achieve to your level of expectations, thereby giving them a sense
of confidence too

This is not to say that you should create unrealistic expectations. However, your expectations
will be one of the key factors in helping students
learn and achieve

Fourth

Consistency

In order to create a positive learning environment your students should know what to expect
from you each day. You need to be consistent

This will create a safe learning environment for the students and they will be more likely
to succeed. It is amazing that students
can adapt to teachers throughout the
day that range from strict to easy. However, they
will dislike an environment in which the rules are constantly changing

Fifth

Fairness

Many people confuse fairness and consistency

A consistent teacher is the same person
from day to day

A fair teacher treats students equally in the same situation

For example

Students complain of unfairness when teachers
treat one gender or group of students differently

It would be terribly unfair to go easier on
the football players in a class than on
the cheerleaders

Students pick up on this so quickly, so be careful
of being labelled unfair

Sixth
Flexibility

One of the tenets of teaching should be that
everything is in a constant state of change

Interruptions and disruptions are the norm and
very few days are typical

Therefore, a flexible attitude is important not only for your stress
level but also for your students who expect you to be in charge and take
control of any situation