E19: What are the qualities of a good teacher ?

Every student has his or her favorite teacher, but that teacher may not be the best qualified person on the teaching staff. In other words, although the mastery of the subject or subjects taught, plus an enthusiastic approach, is an essential prerequisite in a teacher, it is far from being the only qualification. There are some who know their subjects but totally fail to put them across to the students.

Let us first examine the negative side. Unless the teacher has a voice which carries, without shouting, there will always be inattention at the back of the class. There are teachers who cannot stop talking, and who will lecture a class for forty minutes. Most students will be asleep after the first fifteen minutes. There are teachers whose manners and dress are eccentric; they may be popular, but few students take them seriously. There are teachers who either shout at or speak sarcastically to backward students. They are disliked by the whole class. There are teachers who prefer to talk about the football team or a certain television program rather than the subject they are paid to teach. While this again may achieve popularity, it certainly evokes no respect. There are teachers whose lives are marred by drink, drugs, or sexual deviation. These cannot begin to be effective teachers. So what are the positive qualities the student looks for ?

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