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Location: Fort Bend County, TX/USA/Mississauga, ON/Canada
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Do you believe this statement? My friend & I were talking about it, I'm an Elementary Ed major (EC-4th grade) & she is a Business major. I had an internship this summer as a creative writing teacher & I taught Kindergarten & 1st grade. I enjoyed it immensely & it made me all the more excited to be teaching the young kids.
What I realized though that while teaching, I formed a bond w/ the kids in such a short time. 2 little boys in my class brought me flowers on the last day of class & a few of my kids drew me pictures, wrote me letters, & it really touched my heart. This was my first teaching assignment (I start my student teaching next year) & I was really emotional towards the end, it made me sad to know that I'd probably never see them again either...
So what do you think? Does it take a special person to teach? I'm very much a "feeling" type of person & I believe this to be so...
It doesn't take a special person to teach (and there are plenty of teachers who are proof of that), but it makes the whole experience better for all concerned when the person teaching is special.
It takes a special person to be a *good* teacher. They have to have a lot of patience for kids, parents, administration, and co-workers, I'm sure! They also should be creative, able to think out of the box, and willing to take the extra time to reach the students for whom the boxed curriculum does not work. They should be passionate about their subjects and also about their students. I know that I would not make a good teacher in a school. I just don't have the patience to deal with other people's children for an extended length of time! I commend you for loving your students!
Getting a job as a teacher and actually teaching are two different things. Any schmoe can be given a group of students and a gradebook. But whether or not the person does anything that actually TEACHES them anything...therein lies the rub.
I don't know about "special," but I do know this:
-It takes an UNFAILINGLY PATIENT person to be a good teacher, first and foremost.
-It takes a NURTURING, CARING, and COMPASSIONATE person to be a good teacher. And, no, they don't have to be warm fuzzy or hippy dippy to be nurturing and caring. One of the most caring teachers I ever had was a rough, grizzled old dude who yelled a lot. But he cared that we learned and nurtured us toward learning. I had many teachers who lacked compassion. They were lousy teachers.
-It takes a CREATIVE AND ENERGETIC person to be a good teacher...you will lose kids you could be teaching if you don't have these attributes.
-It takes a HIGHLY INTELLIGENT person to be a good teacher...you would think that this should be a given, but it very sadly just is not.
-It takes a STABLE, EMOTIONALLY RESILIENT person to be a good teacher...because you will have people coming at you from all directions with various issues and complaints...not just supervisors, like in other fields, but students, parents, etc. It can also be disheartening that many of the forces that can derail your students are things totally out of your control, so, much like those who work in human services and medicine, you can't get down on yourself when forces beyond your control affect the people you're pouring your efforts into.
You don't HAVE to be any of these things to get a job as a teacher. But in order to actually teach and teach well, those are some of the tools you're going to need in your toolbox.
Like others have said, it takes a talented person to teach well. Plenty of young people I know went into teaching because they said they couldn't think of anything else and they wanted something "easy" and "not challenging". Sad to say, some of the education majors I knew were borderline remedial. It broke my heart.
Some people are just great with kids. They become parents, psychologists, teachers, sports coaches, party planners...I think great teachers tend to be great with young minds, and that's just a talent rather than something "special" to me. To label oneself a special person for being a good teacher just rubs me the wrong way.
Like others have said, it takes a talented person to teach well. Plenty of young people I know went into teaching because they said they couldn't think of anything else and they wanted something "easy" and "not challenging". Sad to say, some of the education majors I knew were borderline remedial. It broke my heart.
It never fails to tick me off when people go into teaching as a fallback, or because "Oh, I get summers off," versus having any actual aptitude or interest in being a good teacher. These people only serve to encourage subpar academic achievement and limited intellectual curiosity in the kids for whom they are supposed to be an example. Plainly put, they're bad role models, as well as subpar educators.
I don't think it takes a special person to teach. Like any job, I think teaching can be learned. Are there natural teachers? Sure, just like there are naturals at anything but that doesn't mean that the average person who wants the job can't learn to do it well.
I think you have to want to be a good teacher to be a good teacher but if you're willing to put in the effort, you'll, eventually, get results. Some just get results faster than others. Like any profession.
It never fails to tick me off when people go into teaching as a fallback, or because "Oh, I get summers off," versus having any actual aptitude or interest in being a good teacher. These people only serve to encourage subpar academic achievement and limited intellectual curiosity in the kids for whom they are supposed to be an example. Plainly put, they're bad role models, as well as subpar educators.
Anybody can be an awful teacher.
Yep. As someone who has summers off with my current job, I really don't get the appeal of that. It's boring and you feel useless. Plus teachers really don't get summers "off"! A year's worth of lessons plans don't just write themselves
I believe truly excellent teachers are born, not created, and that makes them special. They see teaching as a calling and a sacred trust not just a job. They went into teaching for all the right reasons and really feel driven to make the world a better place.
Yep. As someone who has summers off with my current job, I really don't get the appeal of that. It's boring and you feel useless. Plus teachers really don't get summers "off"! A year's worth of lessons plans don't just write themselves
And, some of us teach year-round. My summer session is drawing to a close after next week, I'll have five days off, and then my regular school year starts. Not three months off. Not a summer off. Five days (and unpaid, at that...I'd rather be working them and getting paid). The five days are for our students, not for us.
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