Qualities that a good teacher should have

Despite all the advances and applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the classroom teacher is going to be around for a long time to come, both at school and college level.

However, the process of education has taken a paradigm shift from being teacher-centric to student-centric. The student is now a client or customer of the teacher, and the focus is on how effective the learning rather than the teaching.

The profile of a student has changed drastically in the last generation, and child/adolescent behaviour needs to be understood in depth for the learning process to be effective. Hence the role, the skills and the attitude required of the teacher needs to be completely overhauled.

Digital natives

Children born around or after the turn of the century are known as the ‘Digital Natives’, in contrast to older ones who are considered to be ‘digital migrants’.

What this means in simple terms is that younger children have been born into a world of digital, cyber, IT and electronics.  They have not seen how life is without apps and gadgets.  They feel that smart-phones, tablets, laptops are as much part of their life as clothes, food or shelter.  Hence their learning methods are unique and new, and teachers need to adapt themselves to this generation.

Most of today’s children come from nuclear families, many are single children, a sizeable number have only one parent, information is available at the tips of their fingers, they have not been taught delayed gratification, and they find no purpose in school or college academics since it is not congruent with the world they see outside.

These are just the tip of the iceberg that differentiate them from the previous generations of children. Added to that is the fact that parents are willing to spend huge sums of money for their child’s education, and many expect that learning should be in proportion to the money invested.

Their role models are not the stalwarts and statesmen who lived outstanding lives, but characters from the media who portray a larger-than-life image. Hence the child cannot be motivated by saying that good studies lead to success, riches or status. Taking all these factors into consideration, the connection and rapport between teacher and student becomes even more important to ensure that learning takes place.

Qualities liked by students

Since the advent of the Macaulay system of education that was introduced by the British in India, we have been used to teachers going by the “talk-and-chalk” method of teaching.

Both parents and teachers for many generations went by the policy of “spare the rod and spoil the child”, hence the prime focus was on discipline and completion of curriculum. Today when children can learn so much on their own if their curiosity is stimulated, the role of the teacher, and the qualities required to be effective have changed drastically.

Since I am invited to many schools and get opportunity to interact with students from varied backgrounds and education systems, I did an informal survey over a period of more than one year to elicit from children what they considered the best qualities of a teacher. Some of the are the factors that they listed were:

* Good intentions, impartial, genuine

* Humorous and has the ability to laugh at oneself

* Patient, friendly, approachable, kind, smiling

* Interested in success of student, encouraging and helpful

* Ability to maintain discipline without creating unpleasantness

* Good subject knowledge

This clearly indicates that it is not the qualifications, subject knowledge, experience or status of the teacher that makes her likeable, but the human qualities that build a bond between teacher-student, which ensures better learning. The first impression that a teacher creates in her students, her body language, her demeanor and her sincere interest in creating an ambience of mutual learning, make her task easier, promotes positive classroom environment, and significantly enhances the motivation of students.

Every teacher is unique and has her own ways of developing good relationship with students. Since most teachers have come into this vocation due to their passion or love for children, they are usually conscious of how their behaviour, mannerism and interactions affect their students, and they also keep making changes to adapt to the changing outlook and needs of today’s children.

For those who have lingering doubts whether they are doing their best, and how effective they are, a simple exploration can help clear their doubts. But such introspection exercises, to be effective, should be done periodically with time gaps and then only a clear picture will emerge.